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AFRICA
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
JOSEPH THOMSON
AFRICAN EXPLOEEE
From a photograph by] JOSEPH THOMSON', F.K.G.S., ETC. [J. Fergus, Larjus, X.i
Attt
JOSEPH THOMSON
AFRICAN EXPLORE R
^ Biograplju
BY
HIS BEOTHER
(Rev. J. B. Thojisox, Greexock)
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY FRIENDS
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
SECOND EDITION
LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTOJSf AND COMPANY
LIMITED
5t, Dunstan's l^ousc
Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.G.
1897
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFOUD STREET AND CHARING CItOSS.
3^ 1
T3GT3
TO
1216797
PREFACE.
I HAVE written this biography of my brother for the
following among other reasons : (1) because I desired to
satisfy my own heart and to fulfil what 1 have felt to be
a personal duty ; (2) because I believe that the reading
public will find it healthful and stimulating, even as his
friends found it pleasant and profitable, to know the man ;
(3) because the work which he did, great as it is
admitted to be, cannot be fully understood apart from an
acquaintance with the character and aims of the worker.
My private relation to the explorer has enabled me
to write of him with a full personal knowledge, but I
recognise the fact that there are various aspects of his
life-work upon which the public will naturally desire the
opinion of experts. Fortunately, he .numbered among his
friends men who can speak with the highest authority in
every department, and I have been hajDpy in receiving
contributions from them which enable me to present to
the reader an estimate practically complete.
In this connection I make here my warm acknowledg-
ments to Sir Archibald Geikie, Mr. J. M. Barrie, Mr.
X PREFACE.
Eavenstein, Mr. J. Scott Keltie, Dr. J. W. Gregory,
Mr. J. A. Grant, and Mr. G. F. Scott-Elliot.
A hearty word of thanks is also due to Mr. J. G.
Bartholomew, for the specially prepared maps in which he
offers his suggestive tribute to the geographical work of
his friend ; to Mr. Alexander Anderson, for the poem
which he has written for the book ; to Mr. Fergus, for the
two photo-portraits ; to Mr. T. L. Gilmour, who has kindly
assisted in the reading of proofs and in other ways ; to
Mrs. Calder and ]\Ir. Armstrong, who have favoured me
with their valuable co-operation ; and to all who have
obliged me with the loan of letters.
Greenock,
9th October, 1896.
^:f
"^
CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
lilEiioRiAL Poem ..... xv
I. — Childhood ......
11, — Eaelt Youth ...... 7
III. — College Days ...... 30
lY. — To the Central African Lakes aijd Back 45
V. — Up the RovuiiA . . . . .71
YI. — Through Masai-land . . . .92
VII. — By the Niger to the Western StoAN . 125
VIII. — Literature, Leisure, and Controversy . 1G3
IX. — Over the Atlas Mountains . . . 189
X.— More Book-work 228
XI. — Pioneering in Northern Zambesia . . 247
XII. — A Health-Quest in South Africa . . 273
XIII. — The Close of the Pilgrijuage . . . 302
XIV. — An Appreciation 316
APPENDIX.
I. — A List of His Writings
II. — A List of Honorary Titles .
346
348
Index 349
LIST OF MAPS.
TO FACE PAGE
1. Geneeal Index Map of Afeica . . . xi
2. Royal Geographical Society's East African
Expedition, and Eovuma Expedition . . 53
3. Royal Geographical Society's Masai-land Ex-
pedition . . 101
4. Royal Niger Company's Expedition . . .141
5. Expedition to Morocco and the Atlas . . 201
G. British South Africa Company's Expedition . 249
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Joseph Thomson ....
Glimpse of Camp Life
Reviewing the Expedition .
Mount Lipumbula
Chief with Pelele
Mandara's Warrioes .
Lake Chala, Kilimanjaro .
Masai Women ....
Masai Warriors ....
Village of Kabaras, Kavirondo .
Masai Huts ....
NuPE Hut and Family Group
Haussa Hut, near Bussa
FiLLANi Nobleman and Attendants
Fillani Courtiers
An Itinerant Musician
Jews of the Atlas
Fountain in Morocco .
Above the Clouds, Atlas Mountains
A Moorish Audience .
Joseph Thomson in Moorish Costume
PAGE
Frontispiece
55
67
83
85
104
109
111
lU
117
122
146
151
158
157
203
209
211
217
219
228
He sleeps among the hills be knew,
They look upon his early rest ;
The winds that in his chiklhood blew —
They stir the grass upon his breast.
His grave is green in that sweet A'ale
Where the fair river gleams the same ;
It rolls, and gathers to its tale
The added memoiy of his name.
And youth is his: thoui;h time extends
The growing years from spring to spring,
He still will be to all his fi lends
Secure from what their touches bring.
Calm, then, will be his wish'd-lbr rest,
After the weary toil of feet,
To sleep — the grass above his breast —
And know that perfect p:ace is sweet.
better thus than he should lie
To mingle with no kindred earth.
In the lone desert where the sky
Burns all things into fiery dearth,
And where not even one kindly eye
Could note the grave wherein he slept;
The dusky savage passing by
Would mark it not as on he swept.
But this was not to be: he lies
Near to the murmur of his rills.
He sleeps beneath our Scottish skies.
And in the silence of his hills.
His giave is green in that loved vale
Where the fair river gleams the same ;
It rolls, and gathers to its tale
The dear possession of his fame.
Alexander Anderson.
JOSEPH THOMSON, AFIIICAN EXPLOIIEH.
CHAPTER I,
CHILDHOOD.
JosKi'ii Thomson was born on the 14tli of Pebnuiiy, 1858,
in the village of l*enpont, Dumfriesshire. He was the
youngest of a family of five sons. His father, William
Tliomson, was a native of the neighbouring parisli of Keir
where for some generations his forebears had lived in
honoured simplicity and good repute. William Thouison
was originally a working stonemason, but by dint of
diligence and wise carefulness he had by this time
attained to the position of a master-builder on his own
account, and was patiently laying the foundation for still
larger enterprises than the demands of mere local trade
made possible. The mother of the future explorer, Agnes
Brown, was a native of the parish of Penpont. She
Ijelonged to a family which had long been known and
respected in the neighbourhood, and which carefully kept
up the traditions of a godly ancestry. Both father and
mother were plain, unassuming persons, content to do
their own work faithfully and to be kind and friendly
towards their neighbours. If they had an ambition
beyond that of providing things honest in the sight of all
men and being useful and respected in their station, it
was that they might be able to do well for their children,
■ B
2 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
and to give them advantages, educationally and otherwise,
which they themselves had not enjoyed. This honourahle
aim, so characteristic of the better class of the Scottish
common people, was not denied its fulfilment. From the
day of founding their home they had quietly and steadily
prospered. At first they occupied a little cottage in the
country, but after a few years they built for themselves a
pleasant house in the village, and there it was that tlie
subject of this memoir first saw the light.
Heredity always counts for something in a man's
career, and certainly it counted for not a little in the case
of Joseph Thomson. Those who were familiar with the
family could very easily trace in his individuality
elements of character which were more or less prominent
in liis parents. Training, environment, choice, oppor-
tunity, and the leading of circumstances had all, of course,
their own influence in making him the man he came to
be ; but, undoubtedly, no inconsiderable measure of the
success he attained in his special sphere must be credited
to qualities of mind and body which he inherited.
His father was a man of no ordinary force of character.
Outwardly, he was, in his j)rime, a figure to take note of.
Very tall, powerful in physique, and with a constitution
of iron, he was one with whom very few could compete
in either strength or endurance. But animating this
massive frame there was a heart of the tenderest and
a mind keenly alive to liigh thoughts and all things
beautiful. He had a distinctly poetical temperament, and
loved to read poetry. Burns he had "at his finger ci.^s."
He had, liowever, a special leaning to the solemn and
grand in this department. It was believed among his
children that he could repeat ' Paradise Lost,' or Young's
' Night Thoughts,' from memory. His favourite subjects
of study were such as appealed to the imagination- — for
instance, astronomy and geology — and there was notliing
jnore familiar than the sight of him poring for hours in
the evening, with a perfect oblivion of all else, over
CHILDHOOD. 3
such a book as Dr. Dick's ' Sidereal Heavens,' or Hugh
Miller's ' Testimony of the Eocks.' Two qualities were
notably characteristic of him — power of concentration and
simplicity of purpose. Whether in reading or in working
he was " a whole man to one thing " ; and when he had
made up his mind that this or that was the right thing
to do, he went with an undivided heart straight on his
course, quite unconcerned as to what people would say or
think.
In the mother, too, could be discerned traits which re-
appeared in the son. She was less ardent in temperament
than her husband, but she had that quiet, steady, staying-
power, which breaks down difficulties with tlie sheer force
of patient gentleness. It was much more to her mind to
win her way by kindliness than by will-power, and many
a notable victory she won among her children by a charm
which they did not understand at the time, but which
they remembered in maturer life as a pattern to imitate
• — the charm of sweet, tactful, unhasting reasonableness.
Looking back upon the circumstances of that home-life
into which Josej)h Thomson was born, one cannot but feel
that they were well fitted to develop in him the promise
of a vigorous and healthful manhood. Simplicity ruled
in all the arrangements of the household. Hardship was
not known there, but luxury just as little. Duties had to
be done without question, though, if possible, they were
made to wear an aspect of graciousness, as of things
worthy to be done because they were right. The in-
evitable Iriction among a family of five energetic boys
tended naturally towards self-reliance and independence
of character. This was wisely encouraged. Precept and
authority were never obtrusively prominent, but tliere
was ev^er pervading the household an atmosphere of
wholesome example, which, if subtle and silent, o])erated
towards moral results with a mightier effect. And there
never could be any mistake as to what the meaning of
that example w'as. lieverence, truthfulness, honour, were
B 2
4 JOSErH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEEK.
virtues which lived continuously before the eyes of the
family, and their beauty could be seen and felt. Certainly
Joseph Thomson would have sadly belied his upbringing
if he had not become the courageous lover of truth and
the man of chivalrous straightforwardness which he
proved himself to be.
From his childhood, Joseph Thomson was of a singularly
genth; and lovable disposition. He was full of energy
and vivacity, but never self-assertive. In more than one
respect the child was distinctly father of the man. Even
in opening boyhood he exercised a noticeable ascendency
over his playfellows, thus unconsciously foreshadowing the
subtle power of personal influence which afterwards stood
him in such good stead, when, amid circumstances of
difficulty and danger, he had to manage men. It is well
remembered by those who watched the early years of the
lad that he had continually a troop of his compeers about
him, and that, although some of these were bigger and
older than himself, he was always the unquestioned leader
in their boyish pranks and " ploys." It was in no sense
by forwardness or rough ways that he occupied that place,
for there was nothing of the overbearing character about
him. No doubt the fact had its explanation partly in his
force of initiative — he always knew exactly and decidedly
wliat he wanted to do ; partly in his fearlessness and
enthusiasm ; and partly in his overflowing love of fun —
that genuine brightness of spirit which disarms ill-will
and makes jealousy impossible.
The village of Penpont, where he spent his first nine
years, preserved a quiet, self-contained existence of its
own. The events of the great busy world only touched
its life as a distant echo. No rush or rumble of trattic
broke its slumberous monotony, except when an occasional
couple of farm carts would pass in a leisurely clattering
way to or from the distant railway station, or the farmers
themselves — for the most part an easy-minded, free-living
lot of men under the mild, uncommercial estate regime of
CHILDHOOD. 5
the dukedom of Buccleiicli in those days — would dash
through the place with their stylish gigs and horses on
their way to the weekly county market, or after the
compulsory emptying of the village inn. There the
cliildren could grow up in simple homely ways, and on
the plain unsophisticated diet of the country accompanied
with unrestricted exercise in the fresh air, lay the
foundation of manly vigour in brain and muscle.
In due time Joseph Thomson made his acquaintance
with the village school, under its excellent teacher Mr.
Iiobson, who for a generation has presided over the
educational destinies of the neighbourhood. He took
kindly enough to the simple tasks given him, and dis-
posed of them in an easy, off-hand fashion. lUit wlien
the school day was over, there was no doubt about the
energy which he threw into his play. With his inevitable
troop of companions he was here, there and everywhere
— now up to one childish exploit, now bent upon another.
Soon the resources of enjoyment in the village were used
up, and he must needs go furtlier afield for outlets to
his buoyant spirits. In the neighbourhood there is no
lack of matter for interest and amusement to an in-
telligent boy, and in a very short time every nook and
curious place in the surrounding woods and ravines was
familiar to him.
The scenery around Penpont is very beautiful. The
village stands picturesquely, just wliere the river Scar,
after alternately brawling among the rocky defiles and
sulking in the deep dark pools of Glenmarlin, passes
the richly-wooded grounds of Capenoch, and glides
into an open valley which gradually widens out till it
merges in the broad fertile dale of the Nith. To the
west of the village the ground slopes up into a range
of hills, notable among which is Tynron Doon, over-
looking the valley like a huge Cyclopean mound, seen
as a striking feature from afar, with its curious conical
shape and its flat top, upon which once stood an almost
6 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
inaccessible Eoman camp, and, later, a stronghold of some
sort associated with traditions of King Eohert Bruce.
Eastward, the outlook over the fair expanse of ticld
and forest to the distant hills of Closeburn, backed up
by the grey height of Queensberry, is attractive in the
extreme.
Born with an eye keenly sensitive to the l)eautiful,
Joseph Thomson manifestly became in very early years
conscious of the exquisiteness of his surroundings, and
felt within him the stirrings of a response to their charm.
He was never so intent upon his boyish quests as to
be insensible to the spell which Nature had woven for
his spirit, as from some point of vantage new aspects
of loveliness in the landscape would claim his attention.
He loved to ramble about in the open air, and in liis
pryings into the secrets of woods, and hills, and pictur-
esque river-banks, he was receiving without knowing it
an education. Silently impressions of an indelible sort
were being made upon his mind and heart.
So the time fared on, and the lad, bright, frolicsome,
venturous, restless, grew in strength and in the liking of
his fellows. His daily school tasks and evening exploits,
varied by a whole Saturday's outing now and then, and
punctuated by the inevitable attendance in all weatliers
at service and Sabbath-school, in the United Presby-
terian Church at Burnhead, a mile away from the village,
constituted the weekly round of his life up to his tenth
year. Once in a while, on the occasion of a fair, or
show, or other public event, there would be a much-prized
visit to the adjoining larger village of Thornhill, where
he had, according to his boyish conception, an oppor-
tunity of " seeing the world." But, except for such mild
excitements as this, the stream of his child-life llowed on
in unruffled quietude.
( 7
CHAPTER II.
EAKLY YOUTH.
The year 1868 saw the opening of a fresh chapter in
the boy's experience. It came through the removal of
the family to (uatelawbridge, a place about four miles
from IVnipont, at the base of the hill range which skirts
the eastern side of the Nitli valley. An opening had
occurred in the lease of the farm and freestone quarry
tliere. The quarry was at that time a place of no great
importance. It had a traditional interest from its having
been once worked by " Old Mortality " — a name familiar
to all readers of Sir Walter Scott, as having provided
the title and substratum of legend for one of his most
fascinating novels — but no attempt had been made to
take out of the quarry more than sufficed for the supply
of purely local wants. William Thomson, knowing the
quality of the stone, and foreseeing the possibility of
largely developing the business, resolved to olYer for
the tenancy. He was accepted, and entered upon tlie
occupancy to the advantage of all concerned, for under
tlie management of himself and two of his sons, the works
have, in the process of time, become the most important
centre of employment in that part of the county.
The coming to Gilatelawbridge was a kind of epoch in
the mental development of the inquiring boy, who was
just at an age when the traces and tokens of the historic
past were beginning to exercise a kindly quickening
influence upon his imagination. Within a radius of
8 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
three miles or so from liis new home as the centre,
lies a patch of country teeming with points of manifold
interest. You cannot walk half a mile in any direction
in this area without finding that which recalls some
quaint and curious reminiscence of a remote or recent
past. There are half-obliterated, grass-grown roads, and
the remains of camps large and small, to send you back
to the times of Picts and Eomans. There are hoary
ruins and sites of ancient castles and forts, redolent of
memories of the most stirring and glamorous periods
of Scottish history. There are ravines and hillsides and
glens and passes consecrated Ijy stories of the brave
Covenanters who, amid persecution, were ready to dare
and suffer all for conscience' sake. There are spots whose
names have been enshrined in literature by the magic
words of poets, from Blind Harry to Burns. There are
nooks by wood and stream where linger legendary tradi-
tions, fanciful, humorous, or pathetic. And at no point
are you permitted to forget the spirit of beauty which
haunts you everywhere, and which on a summer or
autumn day seems to pervade the very atmosphere of
the whole dale.
The entii'e district is a veritable land of delights to
one gifted with the seeing eye and the responsive fancy ;
and, from what has already been said, it was but to be
expected that the embryo explorer's interest and curiosity
should be speedily aroused. The romance of his environ-
ment gradually took possession of him, and more and
more ruled the thoughts of his boyhood and youth. In
a passage with a very recognisable element of the auto-
biographical about it, which occurs in " Ulu," he depicts
the impressions and experiences of the next few years in
a characteristic way. Describing the scenes amid which
Gilmour (the hero of the story) grew up — "a peaceful
valley amid the southland Scottish hills " — he says : —
"Probably throughout the length and breadth of
EARLY YOUTH. 9
Britain there is no other spot so perfect in itself", so
complete in every natural charm, as that broad lowland
valley. Far surpassed in any one feature by a score
of places, the scenery of Carrondale, in its varied
assemblage of pleasing characteristics, stands alone.
Stretching away from the little village in their midst
the fertile fields spread their rich mosaic of green and
gold around cosy farmhouses breathing of peace and
plenty. There the broad home park with its stately array
of oak and beech and broad-leaved chestnut, gives added
dignity to lordly mansions, stern with the pride of high
degree. Beyond, the well-clad ridges lose themselves
in purple heath or desolate moorland, or rise into
swelling hills, over whose towering shoulders the fleecy
clouds linger in loving dalliance, to cast a mantle of
magic shadow athwart their hoary sides. Below, in
broken reaches, gleams the river, loitering seawards
between wooded banks or smiling cornfields. Its tribu-
tary streams in haste to join it, rush headlong over riven
rock and linn, making glad music in many a dim retreat,
the sacred haunt of poetry and love.
" Every glen, almost every field, has its story of the
romantic, half- forgotten past."
Then, after setting forth the historic associations of
" Carrondale," he proceeds :
"What more could Nature afford or history supply
to fire the fancy and rouse the romantic instincts of a lad
naturally j)rone to poetic imaginings ? Eagerly Gilmour
drank in every tale of knightly chivalry in love and
war, every legend that appealed to the imagination
by its terror or its pathos, supplying the gaps in the
record by much erratic reading of poetry and prose, better
fitted for the education of a Don Quixote than for the
trrdning of the more practical knight of the nineteenth
century.
" As the years passed by, however, he began to think
10 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOKER.
less and less of the romantic aspect of his surroundings,
and more and more of the wonderful lesson they had to
teach of Nature and Nature's ways of working. In liis
attempts to decipher the rock-told story, he was led
into every secluded corner of the valley, every wild
nook of the hills and moorlands. Nature became his
religion. In a sense he was a Pantheist, worshipping
everything, from the storms to the sun and the hidden
soul which unites them,
" Happiest when alone, he would climb to some distant
height, to revel in the glorious freedom of tlie fresh
mountain air, or gaze in ecstasy on all the varied love-
liness of the valley at his feet. Or he would spend the
long slow hours of summer noon lying among the heatlier,
his senses lulled to dreaminess by the far-off" bleat of
sheep, the whirr of grouse, the mournful call of the curlew,
as they blended harmoniously with the restful sound of
unseen burn, or the distant sough of brawling torrent.
" What longings and aspirations filled his soul the
while ! Vague and crude enough, no doubt, but all up-
ward, all towards the light. His heart was all in the
future, all in the coming battle of life, all in the strife
against falsehood and wrongdoing, and on the side of truth
-and right."
This passage, in so far as it refers to Joseph Thomson
himself, somewhat anticipates the course of our narra-
tive ; but it summarises in a useful and expressive way
the inner history of his life for the next six or seven
years.
Tor the first few months after the settlement of the
family at Gatelawbridge, Joseph Thomson attended the
little school which had been erected in the hamlet mainly
for the beneiit of the workers' families. Circumstances,
however, led to his being transferred to the public school
at Thornhill, where he received almost the whole of his
education.
EARLY YOUTH. 11
Tliis school was superintended Ijy Mr. Hewison, a fine
specimen of the now almost extinct type of parish
"dominie." He was a man of distinct vigour and inde-
l^endence of character, with a shrewd eye for " a lad
of parts " — and not a few of such has he in the course of
his half century of professional service passed education-
ally through his hands. A former pupil thus describes
his personality :
" A sturdy old Scotsman of hardy Norse origin. Born
and reared in the Orkney Islands, with muscular frame
and upriglit bearing, steel-grey hair and kindly face,
he looked the ideal Yiking of the northern seas. . . . His
pet aversion was smoking, which he held was a most
disgusting practice, and woe betide the delinquent caught
indulging in the fragrant weed."
Modern educational methods in national schools have
no doubt brought many advantages for the general mass.
]jut there were some things about the old parochial school
system which wise educationists would not willingly
have let die, if they could have been macle compatible
with the underlying idea of the new system. We suspect
that ]\Ir. Hewison at least was one who would gladly
have retained the old elastic rer/imc whereby some regard
could be had to the individuality of a promising pupil ;
and we are not sure but that, in the hands of so capable
and conscientious a teacher, this would have been prefer-
able to the " steam roller," levelling action of the code.
"My earliest recollection (says Mr. Hewison) of the
world-renowned African explorer is that of a rubicund,
open-countenanced Ijoy appearing in the playground on a
fine May morning of 18G0 as 'the new scholar.' From
the day he entered till the day he left some years after-
wards, he was indubitably the favourite of the school. His
good nature, kindly disposition, cheerful give and take
spirit, soon secured for him the respect of all. He rode
12 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFKICAN EXPLORER.
to school on a pony, and it was a common occurrence to
see him draw ' Donald ' close up to a gate to enable one
little fellow to get on before him and another behind
him, for a cantering lift homewards."
"We cannot, in the case of Joseph Thomson, repeat the
record of aversion to lessons and of truant ways which
has signalised the schooldays of not a few men of mark.
Undoubtedly, indeed, when in after days he came to
measure himself with others in the university, he became
conscious of many educational deficiencies which needed
to be remedied, and he severely blamed himself as having,
all through, dealt with his school tasks in too easy-
minded a fashion and never having brought his real
strength to bear upon them. His teacher, however, saw
no cause to find fault with him ; for the impression he
retains of him is that of a boy " obedient and diligent, and
in home preparation thoroughly trustworthy." It has to
be confessed, nevertheless, that the latter duty was one
which sat very lightly upon him indeed, and was more
frequently neglected than honoured in the observance.
The truth, we believe, is that under the mechanical
intluence of a prescribed system which regulated the
ju'ogress of a whole class by tlie pace of the dullest pupil,
the lessons were to the sharp-witted boy so easy that they
failed to make the impression upon him they would
have made if it had been possible really to put him on his
mettle.
As for his general bearing among his fellows, it is
remembered by those who were intimate with him in his
schooldays that there were two things which he stead-
fastly set himself to combat.
Tlie first was the bullying of the girls. In a mixed
public school like that at Thornhill this was only too
common. But Joseph Thomson's whole nature rose
against it. All through life, one of his distinctive traits
was a chivalrous reverence for womanhood, and this spirit
EAKLY YOUTH. 13
was just as noticeable on the playground. It" ever he
felt inclined to fight with other boys, it was, more often
than not, as the champion of the weaker sex. This, it
may easily be conceived, was a thing calculated to expose
liim to the sneers of coarser natures ; but, as lie was
felt to be quite capable of holding his own, he never
seems to have been troul)led in that way.
The other thing to which he vigorously objected was
profanity and indecent talk. He was no prude, and
made no affectation of the " good boy " character, l)ut
swearing and foul language he simply hated, and very
soon those who wanted to be friends with him got to
know that they must eschew these things in his presence.
" Many a punching of a good-natured kind he gave his
classmates for using bad language, and the punishment
was never resented, as it was admitted by all tliat he had
a right to constitute himself censor morum." So testifies
his chosen companion and, afterward, fellow-student,
Eobert Armstrong,
For the rest, he was one of the most companionable of
boys. To his friends he was simply "Joe." It seemed
unnatural to call one so simple and hearty and un-
affected by any more formal name. To this day, indeed,
his intimates, one and all, speak of him in no other way.
The familiar title has, to not a few, a depth of tender
meaning which no other designation, however honourable,
could have ; and the fact has, in its own fashion, a kindly
significance which cannot be mistaken.
At Thornhill, just as at Penpont, " Joe " could always
at will gather around him a band of followers, and as
occasion offered, he was ever ready to lead off in any piece
of genuine fun, or to indulge in a daring frolic. As
illustrating this, an incident of his early schooldays may
be liere related.
It was the day of tlie parliamentary election in Dum-
friesshire — the last of the old open elections, whose rude
humours have been banished into oblivion by the sedative
14 JOSErn THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
influences of the Ballot Act. The whole of Mid Niths-
dale had emptied itself into Thornhill for the day, and the
voting had to be conducted amid scenes of excitement,
rough play, and riotous hilarity that would have required
the describer of the Eatanswill election to depict them
adequately. The district being in sympathies essentially
radical, the Liberal candidate (Sir Sydney Waterlow) was
of course the popular favourite, and whoever dared to
oppose him had to run the gauntlet of a demonstration of
disapproval Avhich was not a little trying to the temper.
The boys entered co7i amore into the amusement. To
them the sum of duty for the day was to impress every
fresh arrival on the Tory side with a proper sense of
their contempt. Some took the hooting good-naturedly
and escaped easily. Others, not so tactful, got angry, and
suffered accordingly. Among these was Captain John
Jones, Chief Constable of the county — a name usually
s]ioken only with awe by the boys. Irritated, and feeling
his dignity insulted by the laughing satirical company of
youngsters that followed at his heels, he suddenly turned,
seized the foremost of the boys, and administered a good
shaking to him. The victim was none other than Joseph
Thomson, who, as the scion of a Liberal household, felt
that it became him to show himself on the right side, and
whoae characteristic enthusiasm had carried him to the
front. In a moment, however, the Captain's good sense
prevailed, and realizing the humour of the situation, he
marched off his youthful prisoner to the village book-
shop, from which the said prisoner presently emerged,
amid cheers, carrying a volume with an inscription com-
memorative of the adventure.
Incidents like this, however, were but spice to season
the serious business of his schooldays. That business was
not lessons, but the reading of books.
The fever of reading early infected him, and ran its
course with a consuming ardour. At home, and at school
for a time, it was always the one thing — every spare
EARLY YOUTH. 15
moment was occupied with poring over some kind of
literature. In the long winter evenings he would, at
lionie, lie stretched out full length upon the hearthrug,
with elbows upon the floor and head supported by his
hands, and would read for hours until bedtime. As
summer drew round, he would, in fine weather, exchange
the hearthrug for a sunny knoll in one of the fields, or
a quiet place in the Sandrum Wood, and there spend his
time until the dim twilight fell and compelled him to
desist. For a time, indeed, his health seemed likely to be
injured by the intensity of his devotion to books ; but
when his mother in her anxiety took to hiding them, he,
not to be baulked of his joy, would read all the way
home from school, deposit his treasure in some secure
place of concealment, start an hour or two earlier in the
morning, get into the school-house by a window or other-
wise, and there in silence indulge his passion until the
classes would assemble. Then during the hour of re-
creation it was the same thing continued.
"To many of the boys," M'rites one of his school-
fellows, " his preference for books even during play-hours
was a matter of surprise. It was the regular thing,
whenever his presence was essential to some boyish game
or argument, for him to be aroused from the greensward
underneath the shady chestnut-trees in the playground,
where he had retired and stretched himself at full length
to pore over a l)Ook by some favourite author. He was
constantly reading, not the trashy penny dreadfuls so dear
to the heart of the schoolboy, but solid and instructive
books."
The novels of Scott and the stories of E. M. Ballantyne
were read and re-read, ' Ungava ' lieing a special favourite.
In Shakspere he delighted, and the ' Ingoldsby Legends '
he could nearly say off by heart. "A common scene on
the playground (says his teacher) was a closely wedged
16 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
oToup, male and female, with ' Joe ' in the centre volubly
rattling off the last story he had read."
In his reading ho was as omnivorous as he was in-
satiable. Nothing came amiss to him. He had an
instinctive liking for good literature, l)ut he found some-
thing to interest him in any kind of book. The writer
has found the little fellow wrestling eagerly with the
unattractive pages of 'Dwight's Theology' when other and
brighter matter failed him. On tlie other hand, he was
just as ready, upon occasion, to go to tlie opposite extreme,
and to absorb himself with even the crudest stories of
backwoods adventures. Indeed at one time this kind of
book had an influence upon him which proved more usel'ul
than he or any one else could have anticipated.
His imagination became fired with the marvellous feats
of horsemanship which form part of the stock material
of such stories. Being himself full of the spirit of adven-
ture, he would try to reproduce some of tliose feats.
Many an extraordinary performance he and Donald (the
pony) had on the quiet. He would, for instance, place
ol)jects here and there on the ground, and then, in the
rush of full gallop round the field, he would practise
bending over from the saddle and picking them up with
his hand. One day a friend, wdio had himself been in a
regiment of dragoons and was an expert in equestrianism,
was struck dumb to see him on Donald's back tearing
along the very edge of a high precipitous bank, where one
slip or false step would have instantly precipitated horse
and rider, prol)ably with fatal results, into the stream
many feet below. In fearless escapades of this kind, how-
ever, he was unconsciously giving himself a training which
would some day stand him in good stead, besides exercising
his nerve and giving him confidence and coolness in
presence of peril.
It was wlien he was about eleven years of age that the
]»ent of mind which was practically to determine the drift
of his life became discernible to himself. His eldest
EAllLY YOtTH. 17
brother, the writer of this narrative, returning home at the
close of one of his college sessions, happened to bring to
him, as a present, a volume descriptive of travel in strange
lands. He was fascinated and wanted more. The lives
of the explorers were eagerly sought out by him. With
the narratives of Mungo Park, Bruce, Moffat, and otliers,
he was soon perfectly familiar. Then the works of
Livingstone fell into his hands. He greedily devoured
them, and they seem to have awakened new thoughts
within him. In those simple, unconventional records of
the patient, large-hearted missionary-pioneer, he realized
something more than the glamour belonging to adventures
and hair-breadth escapes. The mystery and pathos of
Africa's darkness here came near to him and laid hold
of his imagination. He was touched with a feeling of
Livingstone's compassion for the benighted tribes, and his
ndnd wandered, in a tender questioning way, over those
large spaces on the map of that long-neglected continent
marked " unknown."
Very soon after this the newspapers began to voice the
anxiety of the country about the prolonged silence of that
great explorer, and the fears that were beiug entertained
lest some evil thing might have befallen one whose name
all revered. Nowhere did those notes of concern find a
more sympathetic response than in the heart of the ardent
schoolboy at Gatelawbridge. When, at last, it was an-
nounced that an expedition was to be sent out to search
for the lost traveller, his enthusiasm became uncontroll-
able. Coming to his mother with the news, he eagerly
asked her to intercede with his father to give him money
that he might go and join it. It was in vain that
she gently explained that one so young could be of no
use, and that they would never take liim on board the
ship. With tears he pleaded his case. He would get on
Ijoard somehow ! and when he appeared at sea they would
be bound to take liim, and he was sure he would be al)le
to make himself useful ! When the expedition set out he
18 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFKICAK EXPLORER.
eagerly scanned the daily papers for every scrap of news
regarding it ; and when at last the veteran explorer was
reported to have been found by Stanley, his delight knew
no bounds. Those who saw the lad rushing into the
quarry, his face beaming with excitement and heard him
enthusiastically shout out the glad tidings to his father
long before he got near to him, recall the scene now with a
patlietic interest. At tliat time it seemed to them amazing
that one so young should manifest such vivid concern.
Now these incidents may, to the reader, seem to be
mere freaks born of a boyish imagination. But they
really represented no passing whim. He had taken his
resolution and he never departed from it. He would be
an African explorer ! He would some day, if possible, see
for himself what those blank spaces on the map repre-
sented! There never was a more notable case of a boy
instinctively discovering his vocation and resolving to
prepare himself for it.
I'rom this point the operation of his purpose can be
traced without a break. It ran as a continuous power of
motive and guidance and control in his life through all
the years that followed, up till the moment when he
actually entered upon the career which in his heart he
had craved for himself.
And lie had practical, altliough they might be some-
times amusingly boyish, ideas about his self-training. He
would al)jure the delights of soft mattresses and lie
sometimes even upon the floor of his bedroom " to harden
himself," as he explained. And, though he devotedly
loved his mother, not a few anxious vigils did he un-
intentionally prepare for her, when, as the summer niglit
overtook him in his rambles among the hills, lie would
determine to make his bed in the heather or among the
brackens, that he might anticipate the experience of
resting under the open sky and of going to sleep in the
watching of the stars.
So the years wore on, and his schooldays began to
EAKLY YOUTH. 19
draw to a close. The course he had followed iu Iiis
classes contained no novelties. It was simply intended
to put him in possession of a plain ordinary education.
Besides the various branches of elementary English, ]ie
learnt a little of mathematics, mensuration, and drawing.
The rudiments of Latin he had to get up, but for tlie
subject he had no liking. In French, however, he took
more interest, and in this language he made a good
beginning, which in after days he followed up to some
purpose, as we shall see.
About the year 1872 a new influence began to tell upon
him and to mark a further stage in his mental develop-
ment. This was the Young Men's Literary Society in
Thornhill. It was formed by a number of lads like-
minded with himself, such as his class-fellow Armstrong
and his intimate associate Wallace Williamson (now
minister of St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh), together with two
of his own brothers and some of the more studiously
inclined youths of the village of Thornhill. The society
started with great vigour, and, from the accounts obtain-
able of its meetings, it must have contributed in no small
degree to the intellectual quickening of its members.
Its nights of debate wxre notable and mem.oral)le
occasions. With the freedom and fearlessness of youth,
the stripling disputants tackled all manner of subjects.
No topic was too recondite or august or sacred to deter
them from discussing it. As this got to be whispered
abroad some of the more orthodox and " unco guid " in
Thornhill began to shake their heads and even to suggest
tliat th(i religion of some of the more venturous speakers
was not in a good way. On one occasion this found a
rather ludicrous expression.
A circus had just come into the village, and the day
happened to be that of the regular meeting of the society.
The temptation was too great for the youths, and they
resolved to adjourn to the place of entertainment. They
came up in a body laughing and ready for a little sport.
G 2
20 JOSEPH TIIOMSOX, AFPJCAN EXPLOIIEH.
Finding the entrance crowded, they begcan in a playful
fashion to push forward, when suddenly the mirth of the
whole company was violently aroused by the shout of a
half tipsy mason " Stand back, ye gomerals, and let thae
young infidels in ! "
But, if the members of this society claimed for them-
selves considerable liberties, they undoubtedly turned
their meetings to good purpose. At these Joseph Thomson
found himself thoroughly in his element. He threw
himself with characteristic enthusiasm into every depart-
ment of its work. In numerous essays which he con-
tributed to its manuscript magazine — " Ours " — he began
to try his " prentice hand " at literary composition, and
it is interesting, in reading these still existing numbers,
to note, amid youthful crudeness of style, and solecisms
of grammar and syntax, distinct foreshadowings of that
fluency and that aptness of literary allusion, wJiich were
so characteristic of his writing in after days. The debates,
however, were his chief joy. Into these he threw himself
with the intrepidity of a Ifupert. Opposition showed him
at his best, and brought out reserves of strength with
which his ordinarily quiet demeanour would not have led
one to credit him. In common intercourse he did not
much indulge the gift of speech ; but when the spirit of
discussion took possession of him, he could be articulate
enough ; and, as he was by no means phlegmatic in tempera-
ment, his words often did not err on the side of tameness.
But, while the literary society thus afforded scope,
exercise and stimulus for such gift of writing as he
possessed, and, by frank fellowships and strenuous argu-
mentative conflicts, helped to give him command of his
own intellectual resources, there was another society
which tended in a quieter but no less effective way to
minister to that ideal of a life-work which he had begun
secretly to cherish for himself. This was the Society of
Inquiry, an association which was formed at the same time
a^i the one to wbich we have already referred, for the
EARLY YOUTH. 21
encouragement of scientific study and observation, and
which, for the following twelve or fifteen years, main-
tained a healthy and serviceable life.
The membership of the Society of Inquiry consisted
originally of a score or so of the more intelligent gardeners
at Drumlanrig Castle, together with a number of young
men in the district who indulged a taste for science in one
or other of its branches. The society comprised not a few
earnest and successful local workers. But the high priest
of its mysteries, and the life and soul of it generally, was
its president, Dr. Thomas Boyle Grierson, in whose museum
it held its meetings.
Dr. Grierson's name calls for more than a passing
mention in this narrative. He was a man of a very
marked individuality — one of those men who give flavour
and character to the life of a place. Certainly the
Thornhill of those days had no figure so outstanding, no
character so interesting.
The picture of that familiar personality must still linger
in the memories of many. The roughly and carelessly
clothed figure enveloped in the inevitable dark-coloured
Scottish plaid, and walking with a rapid gait, as of one
absorbed — the mass of straight brown hair hanging heavily
as a curtain to the one side of his brow, and made more
noticeable by the forward stoop of the head — the face, spare
and serious, that spoke of simple living and much thinking
— the pensive mouth with its drooping extremities, and
the blue-grey eyes with a far-away, mystical, dreaming
look about them — such were the characteristic lineaments
of the man, as he moved before the eyes of his fellow-
villagers for thirty years or more. A man compelling
observation !
In his relation to the intellectual and educational life of
Tliornhill, Dr. Grierson was no less a man sui generis.
He was full of plans for the mental and social elevation
of the people, and his ideals were often of the highest. In
his advocacy of these, however, his zealous temperament
22 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFIUCAN EXPLORER.
carried liini up into sucli a cloud of rhetorical, and some-
times even rhapsodical, discourse, that it was ditticult for
his unimaginative hearers to take him quite seriously.
Hence, not infrequently, when he was most in earnest, he
provoked a wondering smile in place of responsive action,
and gave an air of the unpractical to many schemes that
were well worthy of experiment. Thornhill loved him,
but he had the misfortune to be often " speaking over its
head," and consequently to be voted by the slower-moving
local mind a bit of a visionary.
But it was in his love of science and his efforts to
popularise it that the doctor found his vocation, and was
enabled to become a real power in the district. He had
not the kind of mind that makes a specialist ; but he
looked at science precisely from that point of view which
fitted him for interpreting it and giving it an aspect of
interest to ordinary people. He was cosmopolitan in his
reading. Every " ism " and " ology " had some point of
fascination for him. His brain was seething with the
most miscellaneous conflux of ideas, and his memory was
an encyclopicdia of quaint and curious knowledge, which
it was an ineffable delight to him to pour out, wlien-
ever he could find the receptive and sufticiently patient
listener.
The focal point of his scientific interests lay in his
museum. That museum was indeed a wonderful collection
for a single individual to have amassed, working alone in
a secluded country district, and witli no resources to rely
upon except the modest profits of a limited and gradually
dwindling practice. But what Dr. Grierson lacked in
external advantages he made up for by enthusiasm, and
by faith in the value of his scheme. The scientific and
educational usefulness of local collections was a subject on
which he was never tired of dilating. This idea, which he
lield in common with not a few distinguished scientists,
such as Sir John Lubbock and others, was more than once
advocated by him before the British Association ; indeed,
EAELY YOTJTH. 23
we believe, he was the first to press the matter upon the
attention of the Association.
His faith had at least this practical effect, that it
delivered him from all excess of modesty in aiiplying for
contril)utions to his curious store. Being fully satisfied
that he represented tlie interests of science, he foraged
boldly. He had the keenest scent for what would serve
his purpose, and if any one in the district for ten miles
round became possessed of any article of antiquarian or
scientific interest, it was just as well for him to make up
his mind at once that its only proper resting place was
the museum at Thornhill, for the doctor's visit was in-
evitable, and the doctor's logic was generally irresistible.
Indeed, at one time afterwards, Joseph Thomson had
almost to quarrel outright with him for the retention of
some of his valuable African curiosities. In this and
other ways there gradually grew up, under his fostering
care, an institution of which Thornhill felt that it had
reason to be proud.
But, to the doctor, collecting was not an end in itself.
Here at least he had a very practical object in view.
What was the good of antiquarian treasures and scien-
tific specimens, if there were not students to use them ?
Hence the formation of the Society of Inquiry. It
was the natural complement of the museum ; and only
when it had once been fairly established did the quaint
savant feel that he had attained to his educational
ideal.
Dr. Grierson being, par excellence, the father confessor of
the neighbourhood on matters scientific, it was but natural
that Joseph Thomson should take him into his confidence.
The lad, in his eagerness to peer into the secrets of nature,
as hidden in rocks and plants, wanted encouragement and
sympathy. The doctor's ear was open and interested ; and
so there speedily sprang up between the two a fellow-
ship of a very close kind. The young inquirer was felt
to have the right stuff in him, and his zeal and success
24 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEER.
in doing original work surprised and delighted his older
friend. The doctor was, in fact, not a little proud of his
confidant, and in later years it was one of his amiable
weaknesses to pose as his patron and to claim him as a
iwotege — an experience to which the explorer submitted
with good-natured amusement.
When Joseph Thomson joined the Society of Inquiry
either at, or immediately after, its formation, he was the
youngest on its roll ; but from the first he was not only
one of the most devoted but also one of the most efficient
of its members. In its meetings he found a much-prized
opportunity of giving articulate utterance to his ideas and
of putting to the test of discussion his theories and the
result of his observations. The fact that he could find an
appreciative audience gave him an immediate object to
work for ; while, at the same time, the fact that his
statements would be keenly scrutinised, not only put
him on his mettle but trained him to accuracy and
caution.
The value of these things he fully recognised, and
during the four or five years of his association with tlie
society, there was no worker more in evidence. His
name during those years is continually recurring in the
records of the society, now as the donor to the museum of
some valuable antiquarian " find," now as the describer of
some interesting specimen, now as the narrator of some
scientific excursion, now as the reader of a paper or as the
leader in a discussion.
The records of the society show, as might have been
expected, that the subject of geology was one which very
specially occupied his attention, and that his father's
quarry formed a very useful exercise-ground for his
meditations and observations. His father's delight in
Hugh Miller's works had possibly infected him. Be this
as it may, he was, as a boy, thoroughly conversant with
' My Schools and Schoolmasters ' and ' The Testimony of
the Eocks,' Passing from these to Page's ' Text-Book of
EAllLY YOUTH. 25
Geology,' he soon had that stiff treatise pretty well
assimilated.
But he was not content to store up knowledge without
applying it to use. This was made evident by his contri-
butions to the proceedings of the society. ' The distribu-
tion of Peroxide of Iron in the Sandstone of Gatelaw-
bridge Quarry/ ' Some peculiar markings in the Sandstone
of Gatelawbridge Quarry,' ' The Stratification of the Sand-
stone of Gatelawbridge Quarry, with special reference to
the unconformable character of certain Strata ' ; — these
are among the titles of the communications which he
presented ; and they indicate that, while he was a greedy
reader of the literature of his favourite science, he was,
from the first, resolved to be a practical reader of the
book of Nature.
Thus it happened that, at an early period, he became
quite an expert observer. He was so constantly in the
liabit of bringing the knowledge he had acquired from
books to bear upon whatever lay under his eyes, that he
was soon able to take in at a glance the geological
character of any piece of country, and to determine with
substantial accuracy the significance of its various features.
This faculty, as it ripened, brought increasingly a true
delight to him, and added a fresh and powerful motive to
extend his rovings.
So heartily did he revel in this new sense of vision,
that there was hardly a hill or glen for twenty miles
round which he had not visited and studied. From
Enterkin Pass to the Solway, from Cairnsmore to Queens-
berry, from the cliffs of Glenwhargen to the peak of
Criffel, he had wandered in exploration before he was
more than seventeen years of age. He was indefatigable
as a pedestrian, and when to the joy of walking he could
add the joy of increasing his earth-knowledge, his explora-
tory excursions were an endless attraction to him. The
shepherd in lonely unfrequented spots, or the zealous
ganiekeeper suspicious of poachers, would curiously watch
26 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
the solitary lad, as, hammer in hand, he clambered over
rocks or peered into forbidden places.
Though he worked much alone, he enjoyed not in-
fre({uently the fellowship of his classmate, Ilobert Arm-
strong, who was also a member of the Society of Inquiry.
Concerning these occasional outings with his friend,
Mr, Armstrong thus writes : —
" Though geology ever held the chief place in his heart,
he had a love for all kinds of science. His first enthusiasm
was given to the collection of our local ferns. ' The
Linn ' and ' The (Teugh,' and other glens among the hills,
yielded many treasures, and only those with similar tastes
can fully understand the boyish glee with which ca])S
were thrown in the air wlien a new or rare fern was found.
The district is not very rich in fossils, but every possible
locality was visited and carefully examined. The Silurian
shales away beyond Mitchelslack yielded various species
of Graptolites ; the White Quarry stigmaries and sigil-
larias ; the limestone of Closeburn and Barjarg gave
various shells ; and in the Carboniferous clays at the foot
of Crichope Linn he discovered two or three fossil ferns,
which, if not new to science, were new to the Lower
Carboniferous limestone of Scotland. Several excursions
were made to Wanlockhead and Leadliills in search of
minerals, the best of which he arranged in a glass case.
These excursions were usually made on Saturdays. But
often in the summer evenings we went right from school,
and, merely halting at Gatelawbridge, went on to the
Linn to search for ferns and fossils, and explore the
burn up to its source in Townfoot Loch."
It was probably the happiness of these untrammelled
wanderings that suggested to his mind the idea of fitting
himself for an appointment on the Geological Survey.
The employment seemed to him an entirely desirable
one, and, as he gradually realized how precarious was the
possibility of his ever being able to satisfy his childhood's
EARLY YOUTH. 27
ideal of being sent to search unknown lands, he was fain
to fix his mind upon the more attainable ideal of exploring
his own country.
This aspiration was further accentuated by a casual
meeting which he had with the director of the Geological
Survey himself — Professor Archibald Geikic, at Crichope
Linn, Crichope Linn, we may say in passing, is one of
the most interesting and remarkable linns in Scotland.
It is a deep, narrow, richly-wooded gorge about a mile in
length, where the rocks of Permian sandstone have been
rent asunder by some natural cataclysm. A stream
floAving through has worn the soft stone, now into curious
circular cavities, and anon into quaint channels, through
which it rushes as a swift current, or hurls itself as a
noisy cascade into some deep pool, whose dark surface
and fern-bedecked sides the visitor can only dimly dis-
cern from his standpoint thirty or forty feet above. This
picturesque ravine — the prototype, by the way, of the
hiding-place of Balfour of Burley in 'Old Mortality' —
was a favourite haunt of Joseph Thomson. It appealed
l)oth to the romantic and scientific sides of his nature ;
for, while it had its Elf's Kirk and Covenanters' place of
refuge, it had also in secret recesses its cryptogamic and
geological treasures. Often had he clambered through its
dangerous places in search for rare specimens. And not
without reward dear to the scientific spirit, as we have
already seen. It happened that Professor Geikie, busy
with his survey of Nithsdale, visited the Linn one day,
and came upon the lad at his solitary self-appointed task.
It goes without saying that the master, as full of un-
conventional honJwmie as of scientific enthusiasm, was
interested in the youthful worker, who on his part was
only too delighted to guide the unexpected visitor to all
the points of importance. The interview ended in an
adjournment to Gatelawbridge, half a mile off, where the
three new fossil ferns, already referred to, were duly
examined, pronounced to be a genuine " find," and care-
28 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFKICAN EXPLORER.
fully noted for insertion in the printed results of the
Survey.
An incident like this, \vitli its memory of words of
approval and encouiugement, spoken by so high an
authority, could not fail to have a great effect upon
Thomson's mind. Apparently it is from this point that
we must date the definite resolution to have a University
training in science, so as to fit himself for some more
congenial career than seemed likely to open for him at
home.
All this lime, however, Joseph Thomson was not living
otherwise an idle life. He had, in the end of 1873, left
school ; but the energy of his nature was too great to
permit of his being content without a definite employment.
So, in default of a more suitable occupation presenting
itself, he resolved to try his hand at work in his father's
quarry.
In this sphere, however, he was pretty much a " chartered
lil)ertine." As for his hours of work, he came and went
as he pleased. Many an afternoon, as some interesting
quest would occur to him, he would silently vanish from
his place and be off to the hills, not to be seen again till
late at night, or even, sometimes, till next morning. Then
as for the manner of his working, it is to be feared that it
did not conduce to the profit of the firm. In his handling
of the stones he certainly did not lack vigour; but
he indulged in a "breadth of treatment" which did not
square with conventional ideas of the art of stone-cutting.
The effect was described with unconscious humour by one
of the masons in the quarry, when he said contemptuously
of a stone which the young "impressionist" had finished,
that " it looked as if it had been sputten up by an earth-
quake." The truth is that his heart was not in this sort
of task, though it served very well to save him from the
sense of being idle. He had never that serious view of it,
as a possible life employment, which alone could have
given him a desire to excel in it. Wlule his hands were
EARLY YOUTH. 29
busy witli mallet and chisel, his thoughts were often upon
other objects. He was dreaming of far different uses for
his powers, and wondering on what hand Providence was
to open a door into the future of his dreams.
None of his friends was surprised, therefore, when he
intimated that he had made up his mind to go to college
and have a course of the science classes. Probably Ids
father had anticipated this decision, and when it was
mentioned he met it with prompt approval. He was
shrewd enough to see that his son had not yet entered
into his vocation, and as he himself, plain man as he was,
sympathised to the full with every aspiration after mental
culture, he was heartily willing to supply the wherewithal
for the gratification of his aim. The beginning of the
winter session 1875-7r), therefore, found Joseph Thomson
enrolled as a student in Edinburgh P" niversity.
30 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
CIIArXEP. III.
COLLEGE DAYS.
Joseph Thomson began his college cfireer with the two
classes of geology and mineralogy, and of chemistry,
Professor Geikie being the teacher of the one, and
Professor Crum Brown of the other. He had probably
intended to keep himself strictly to these two subjects.
But very soon, as the nature of the class demands became
clear to him, he began to realise vividly his deficiencies in
relation to elementary education. The mistake he liad
made in taking his tasks at school in such a light-hearted
fashion stood out very plainly. However, the mistake
was, as he thought, not beyond remedy, and remedied it
must be. Hence we find him promptly enrolling himself
in such extra-mural classes as seemed needful ; and these
did much for him, although he never quite overcame the
disadvantages under which he had thoughtlessly placed
himself.
As for his chosen science classes, he threw himself
into the work of them con amorc. He had come to
the University for a very practical purpose — not to glide
through it for the name of the thing, but to fit himself for
an already formed life-purpose. He must therefore allow
himself no idle hours. Now that he had waked up to the
reality of life and to serious thoughts of his future, it
behoved him to be earnest, just in proportion as he had
dallied with his school work in days gone by.
In view of his extra-mural work it was fortunate for
COLLEGE DAYS. 31
liiiii that the chiss of geology made no great strain upon
him. His previous reading and practice had made him
familiar with the elements, and thus enabled him easily to
keep abreast of the daily lessons, while giving time for
other things. But, taking one thing with another, his
hands were abundantly full, and he was glad when the
Sabbath came round with its release from toil, and its
call to quiet thought about other things.
How he felt about this will be best described in his own
words. Writing to his intimate friend and schoolmate
Miss Bennett — with whom he corresponded confidentially
all through his college days, and to whom were addressed
nearly all the letters quoted in this chapter — he says : —
" What a glorious thing is a Sabbath in town ! No
sound breaking in upon the holy calm, except the musical
chime of the church bells and the occasional tramp of
people going to church. Now and then the rattle of a cnl)
helps to make the stillness more impressive, as it reminds
one of the dreadful din of the rest of the week. What a
grand institution it is ! Eeleased from the cares of the
past week one recruits his energies for the next. Then
one has more time to think of religious questions — to read
that glorious old book the Bible."
At such times, when the sounds of city traftic were
hushed, he loved to let his heart and imagination wander
away to the open country, and to live for a little in
imaginary communion with the rural scenes he loved so
well. It needed little to wake the responsive chord of
memory. He speaks of posting himself often on Sabbath
mornings at the window of his lodging " to listen to the
glorious sound of the organ" from a church which just
faced his window, " and of a woman's voice singing in the
choir." "I would rather," he says, "hear that any day
than the best concert. It always makes me think of
home, of the solemn loneliness of the hills, of the mingled
gloomy and cheerful beauties cf Crichope Linn, of the
32 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
singing of the birds, the sighing of the trees and the
rippling of water over its rocky Led."
In the solitude of his lodging during this first session,
he found his hours of relief from study taken up with
other and deeper thoughts. For now, in a special sense,
he became conscious of the awaking of his spiritual
nature, and of the persistent surging up of questions about
the unseen, and about the mystery of life and duty. He
had been brought up breathing daily an atmosphere of
unostentatious religion in his father's house, and he had
never known anything but reverence for things sacred.
But hitherto habit had been the dominant factor in his
attitude towards these matters ; he had been conscious
of no stirring of profound personal interest. Xow, how-
ever, when his life was lifted out of its old setting, when
he was thrown in upon himself and compelled to a sense
of his individuality, he began to realise the throbs of his
spiritual being, to feel the existence of a world behind the
visible, with its great facts and problems pressing for
attention. He had, in fact, reached that momentous stage
in a man's evolution when the voices of the soul become
articulate, and when " deep " begins to " call unto deep."
" I hope (he writes to his friend) that my learning of
science is not entirely ape-work — a mere exercise to the
memory — which, alas, in seventy out of every hundred
turns out to be the case — but an education in the true
sense of the term ; and that, while it is more immediately
connected with the intellect, it may react upon the
emotional, moral and religious nature. The lattei", I fear,
you will hardly consider, from various expressions used in
this letter, to have been much attended to. But that
is a mistake. Since I came here, I have thought more of
religion than ever I did before."
His letters reveal him as greatly exercised in quiet
moments with the ever-recurring question of faith versus
COLLEGE DAYS. S3
reason, and groping after the point of reconciliation
between the two. They represent him as looking back
with tender memory to what he had been taught, but
realising that the simple views of the Bible in which he
had grown up were hard to hold against the arguments
of science and philosophy — praying for guidance, yet
feeling that the forces arrayed against the unquestioning
faith of his childhood were looming up more and more
formidably.
One thing that early impressed itself upon him was the
sacredness of a man's personal convictions, from whatever
point of view he may arrive at those convictions, or after
whatever form he may find it needful to express them. It
was his own God-given right as a free, spiritual, responsi-
ble being to question and reason and judge about the
deepest problems of truth and duty for himself; but it
was no less the inalienable privilege of every other man
to do the same. It seemed to him, therefore, to belong
to the essence of true charity that no man should attempt,
even by the strong assertion of dogma, to restrict his
neighbour's liberty.
This was a position from which he never swerved.
Indeed, the feeling only deepened as the years went on,
and as circumstances threw him into contact with men of
widely varying views on religion ; and it largely accounts
for the reticence which he persistently maintained upon
all mere points of doctrine, as distinguished from the ever-
pressing necessity of pure and noble living. "I would
not for the world," he writes, " attempt to overturn any
man's religious views, whether I thought them to be right
or not." For himself, he wanted some profounder and
nobler motive in life than the hope of heaven or the fear
of hell. Yet there seemed to him to be many who could
only have their conduct shaped to better things by
such motives — and who was he that he should judge
them ?
There were times when, in his wrestlings with the
D
34 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFfxICAN EXPLORER.
problems of the unseen world, lie I'elt overwhelmed and
humiliated at the helplessness of human reason, and to be
possessed with the feeling that one could not be sure of
anything. But, anon, that which is deeper and more
insistent than reason would return cpiietly to assert its
sway, and to re-awaken the consciousness that Clod and
truth and eternity are realities, which loom up calm and
changeless, like the broad-based heaven-piercing mountains,
when the morning breeze has swept aside the enveiling
mists that hid them.
More and more he became convinced that doctrinal
formulas, however helpful to many minds, are not the
things to put to the forefront, and, increasingly, his own
religion resolved itself simply into a devotion to goodness
in all its forms. He had in him a deep vein of devout-
ness; but for him the one supreme thing was to be true and
live beautifully, and no man ever strove more honestly
to honour his ideal. It was not in vain that he registered
thus early his purpose of " hoping always for the best,
striving to attain to as high a standard of life as possible,
making truth my guide, and following it wherever it may
lead or to whatever issue it may tend."
Ere we pass from this subject, it may be well to quote,
as illustrating the trend of his thoughts in those early
formative days, a letter to a distinguished fellow-student.
This correspondent, who was of a somewhat metaphysical
turn of mind, had in a letter been discussing the question,
Wliy do I exist at all ? " This," replies the embryo
scientist, to whom living was greater than theories of life,
" is an eminently unprofitable subject,"
" Allow me," he continues, " to lay down a few rules
for your guidance. In the first place, overhaul your
conscience, and find out wliat your convictions arc re-
garding your duty. Having done so, prepare to act up to
them as far as is in your power. And then ask yourself
the question, What is your true origin ? Are you merely
COLLEGE DAYS. 35
tlie result of blind natural forces and laws, or are you
the result of intelligent design — in fact, were you made
(whether by evolution or by an instant act of creation) by
a Supreme Being ? If the former is the case, then truly
it is a black lookout. If mind and soul are the result of
an evolution from matter, then with it they must return
to their constituent particles, and a theory of existence is
vain. . . . The thought is repugnant to all that is good
and great and true in man's nature, and we turn with a
sigh of relief to the more hopeful side of the question.
This, too, no doubt, has its difficulties, but how few and
how small compared with the materialistic theory ! Think
of the bright hope gleaming through the darkness in the
idea that we have, as the Author and Finisher of our being.
One who is our Father, our Shepherd, our Protector, who
is Love, Truth, Goodness. And then, what a future for us
there is on this theory !
" Think of these things. Casting away all thought of
the why, consider that you arc. Consider that you have a
future, and that everything in that future depends upon
the way in which you act up to your honest convictions of
right and wrong.
" It is the sad fate of all people who search out the
unknowable, instead of grappling with the realities of life,
that tliey lose themselves among words. Turn to Nature,
and like Longfellow you will soon exclaim : —
'These in flowers and men are more Ihan seeming;
Workings are they of the self-same powers
Which tlie poet in no idle dreaming,
Seeth in himself and in the flowers.
* !(< * *
And with cliildlikc, credulous affection
We behold their tender buds expand ;
Emblems of our own great resurrection,
Emblems of the bright and better laud.'
Begin and read the ' Psalm of Life ' immediately ; also ' The
' D 2
36 JOSEPH Tn0MS02>r, AFrJCAN EXPLOPiER.
rrelude,' ' The Light of Stars,' ' Footsteps of Angels,' and
' Plowers.' Think also of ' The Law of Life ' :—
' Live T, so live I,
'Jo my liovd heartily,
To my Prince faithfully,
To my Neighbour honestly,
Die I, so die I.' »
AVe may rcasonal)ly infer from the aljovc letter that the
simple healthful philosophy of Longfellow's poetry had
liad its own share in the moulding of the writer's views of
life. It may also be noted that there was one other book
wdiich had a great influence upon him. That was
Dr. AValter C. Smith's 'Hilda among the broken gods.'
He felt it to be " a most delightful work." " I am not a
great reader of poetry," he says, " but over this work I
became positively enthusiastic."
Considering the leeway which he had to make up, and
tlie need he recognised of improving his education all
round, he seems in this first session to have had no idea of
aiming at class honours, pitted as he was against many
whose previous literary and technical preparation had
been so much more favourable than his own. It was not
according to his nature to be a mere " crammer " for
honours. "I have no ambition for medals and that sort
of thing," he writes. " My aim is knowledge, and exams,
merely serve as knowledge-gauges, by which I may get a
more definite idea of what I have learned."
Nevertheless, the close of the session found him occupy-
ing a good place. In geology he obtained a certificate of
"liigh distinction " in the ordinary class works, honour-
able mention for mineralogical analysis, and also for
his essay on the class excursions. In chemistry he like-
wise acquitted himself with credit, and obtained second
class honours.
After a short holiday he returned to Edinburgh for the
summer session (187G). This time his subjects of study
"H-ere botany, under Tiofessor Lai four, and practical
COLLEGE DAYS. 37
natural history under Professor Huxley, who for the
session took the phice of Professor Wyville Thonisun in
his ahsence with the Challenger expedition.
The experience of studying personally under Huxley
was a privilege to which he had been looking forward
with eager anticipation ; for he had already been fascinated
with the charm of Huxley's writings, and had received
from them no small amount of mental stimulus. iSTor
were his expectations disappointed. But he found the
work to be unexpectedly hard, and very soon he had the
sense of panting to keep pace with the demands of the
lecturer. It was not merely that the texture of scientific
reasoning in the lectures was so closely knit — although
that was a very palpable fact — but the character of
Huxley's terminology was entirely strange to liim. It
met him on his weakest side, for it presupposed a know-
ledge of Greek (being little else than Greek compounds
with English terminations), and of Greek he had none.
"Huxley's usual lectures," he writes, "are something
awful to listen to. One half of the class, which numbers
about four hundred, have given up in despair from sheer
inability to follow him. The strain on the attention at
each lecture is so great as to be equal to any ordinary
day's work. I feel quite exhausted after them. And
then, to master his language is something dreadful. It is
equal to learning a new tongue. But, with all these
drawbacks, I would not miss them, even if they w^ere
ten times more difficult. They are something glorious,
sublime."
Again he writes : " Huxley is still very dithcult to
follow, and I have been four times, in his lectures,
completely stuck and utterly helpless. But he has given
us eiglit or nine beautiful lectures on the frog. ... If
you only heard a few of the lectures you would be
surprised to find that there were so few missing links in
the chain of life, from the amceha to the genus homo."
38 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
He felt the strain of this session to be very great, and
complains of being kept dreadfully close at work. " My
hours at college," he writes, " are from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
I never get half an hour to myself except at the end of
the week."
But when the Saturday came he did enjoy it to tlie
fulL When released from the restraints of class and city
his pent-up animal spirits fairly overflowed. With the
superabundant energy characteristic of him, lie explored,
in long walks, all the country round about Edinljurgh,
often starting in a frolicsome mood at absurdly early
hours. In one of his letters he says : " I have done quite
a feat a la Weston. Yesterday morning I walked fifteen
miles before 6.30 a.m. to Carlops, and had the pleasure of
waking up some friends there at what they doubtless
tliought a dreadfully unseasonable liour. After a short rest
I had another walk of seven miles over some hills, which
in ordinary walking would be equal to ten or twelve."
And of course he had the return journey to make !
Then there were the periodical excursions of the
botanical class. Every one knows how unconventional
students are when thus out in the open ; and in all the
frolic he was in the forefront. He would come home as
hoarse as a crow from a variety of vocal performances,
and find infinite amusement at the concern of his sym-
pathetic landlady over " the bad cold he had got."
He finished this session also " with distinction," at least
in the natural history class, and at the close returned to
Gatelawbridge.
He did not resume his University work in the winter
of 1876, as he felt that his father needed liim at home.
Probably, even from the educational point of view, he was
just as well employed in securing and consolidating what
he had learned, and in putting his acquired knowledge to
the test of practical experiment. Book knowledge could
at the best be but a scaffolding by means of wliich he
might build up his actual capacity as a scientist ; the real
COLLEGE DAYS. 39
building could only Ite done by the practical use of his
eyes, and by the application of his mind to the problems
around him.
He resumed his attendance at the Literary Society and
the Society of In(|uiry in Tliornliill, and exercised himself
in the preparation of a number of essays. But the task
which specially occupied iiis time and thoughts was the
practical working out of a theory of the geology of Mid-
Nithsdale, which he early recognised to be in some
respects peculiar, and whose special features had never
been explained. Here was lying to his hand an oppor-
tunity of doing congenial and truly original work. To
this, therefore, he devoted himself with his wonted
concentration and carefulness during the autumn and
early winter months. The result of his observations and
reflections he embodied in an elaborate paper entitled
'The Origin of the Permian Basin of Thornhill,' which
he lead before the Dumfries Scientific Society on
February 2nd, 1877.
Subsequent to the reading of this paper, another subject
of no less attractiveness presented itself. In the develop-
ment of the business of the quarry at Gatelawbridge, his
father was having a branch line of railway constructed to
Thornhill station, a mile off In cutting through a ridge
of drift, the workmen exposed a geological formation of a
decidedly unusual character. The quick eye of the young
student at once noted tlie deposit as being different from
any known accumulation of the same age in Dumfries-
shire, and probably even in Scotland. The elucidation of
the enigma thus suggested was therefore liis next work.
Tlie facts and his conclusions formed the subject of
another paper, which he read first to the Society of
Inquiry at Thornhill in October 1877, and afterwards to
the society in Dumfries in the January following.
These two papers were at once recognised as of more
than connnon interest, not only as being in themselves
fine specimens of scientific induction, but as revealing in
40 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
so young an observer a quite exceptional capacity for
independent work. They were printed together in the
transactions of the Dumfries society, and constitute his
first appearance in type.
In the winter of 1877 he was once more at college in
Edinburgh. He joined Professor Geikie's advanced class
of geology and mineralogy, and also that of natural
history under Professor Wyville Thomson, who had now
returned to his post. The long interval which he had
had for private study and practice had given him in-
creased strength and confidence. In both classes he felt
the ground, as it were, more firm beneath his feet, and
he threw himself into the labours of the session in both
with the encouraging consciousness that, even though he
had an unusual number of clever competitors, he ought to
be able to give a good account of himself
On this occasion his former schoolfellow, Armstrong,
shared his rooms, and from reminiscences by him we
quote the following : —
" He was a most conscientious student. He wrote out
his notes in full immediately on coming from the class,
and engaged me to look them over and make any cor-
rections in spelling or grammar that might be necessary
— for he was most anxious to improve himself in English.
He was also most methodical in his work ; every hour
had its appointed task. Even the stroll along Princes
Street — his ' constitutional ' he called it — was always
taken at the same hour, 4-5 p.m. ; and woe Ijetide the
landlady if coffee was not on the table at 9.30 p.m.
prompt. In the evenings, when no exam, was near to
make us burn the midnight oil, we made calls on mutual
friends, or received visits from them. At other times
a good novel would form the evening's relaxation. I
remember he got through ' David Copperfield ' — it was
the first time he had read it — at one sitting. In this, as
in more weighty matters, ' Joe ' broke the record. AVheu
COLLEGE DAYS. 41
any star, such as Irving or Toole, visited Edinburgh, an
occasional evening would be devoted to the theatre.
Miss Wallis, in her role of Shaksperian heroines, was a
great favourite, and the Italian Opera, on its annual
visit was always patronised. It is needless to say that
he was most regular in his habits ; he did not smoke, and
of course he never touched drink. He had such a well-
balanced nature that he felt no need for an artificial
stimulant of any kind. He was no faddist ; the desire
simply did not exist."
At intervals during the session there were the usual
class excursions for " field practice " in geology, which
were no doubt full of instructiveness, notwithstanding
that they were by no means solenni performances. If
they were valuable as means of giving practical know-
ledge of the earth's crust, they were also interesting as
revealing how much of genial humanity lurks respon-
sive beneath the academic crust of professorial nature.
One of these excursions he describes with great gusto : —
"A glorious one . . . when we went to North Berwick,
explored the coast there, and finished off with a grand
dinner at the principal hotel. There were twenty-two
of us, including Professor Geikie, Mr. Murray of the
Challenger, and a Dr. Purvis. After dinner nearly every
one sang comic songs. Geikie gave ' The Three Jews,'
and Murray gave, among others, ' The Costermonger's
Donkey,' The singing in the train was perfectly terrific.
All the students' songs that could be raked up were done
in chorus, in which the mild and melodious voice of yours
truly was not the least conspicuous. We finished up at
the Waverley Station with every one standing up, hats
off, and singing as loudly as our already exhausted voices
would allow ' God save the Queen.' It caused an im-
mense sensation, which would hardly have been lessened
if it had been known who were among the singers,"
42 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
When the end of the session drew near, the tussle
for first place was very keen. He was conscious of
knowing his sul)jects, but he knew the brilliance of some
of the men he had to reckon with, and he was aware of
his own points of weakness ; hence he suffered himself
to indulge in no over-confidence. But in the end the
issue was clear. He emerged as Medallist in Natural
History and Medallist in Geology, besides having won
the first prize for blowpipe analysis and the fourth prize
for an essay on the class excursions. And no man
grudged him his honour.
The following notes by Sir Archibald Geikie give an
interesting glimpse of Joseph Thomson the student, and
indicate suggestively enough why none of his fellows
could be jealous of him. After referring to the course of
liis class- work, the qiioiidam professor says : —
" It was in tlie excursions into the field, for practical
geological work, that I saw most of Thomson, and formed
my high opinion of his capacity. He was always the
first to climb a crag or scale a quarry, showing in these
early days the daring and physical endurance which stood
him in such good stead in after life among the wilds
of Africa. He had likewise a quick eye for geological
structure, and rapidly seized the salient points of each
section as we came to it. He displayed, too, an exuberant
enthusiasm for geology, and seemed never so happy as
when he was striding ahead of his fellows to get at the
next section, where he felt sure some fresh light would be
thrown upon the structure of the district.
" There was such a frank open-heartedness about him,
such a love of fun, and so much kindly humour, that he
became a great favourite with his class-fellows, who liked
him for his companionableness, while at the same time
they respected him for his ability. I shall never forget
one scene in particular, where these pleasant relations
between them showed themselves in a very striking way.
COLLEGE DAYS. 43
We had gone, at the end of the work of the winter, to
take an April holiday in the Western Highlands for some
ten days. One day, as we were sauntering up Cllen
Spcan, a member of the party found a penny tin- whistle
on the road. In the course of the evening it was dis-
covered that Thomson could play a little on this musical
instrument, and from time to time discordant notes and
shouts of laughter were heard from a back room, where
he was made by his companions to play Scottish airs to
them until far on into the morning. When we started
to resume our tramp next day down Glen Spean, he was
placed at the head of the procession, and with his whistle
in his mouth, but hardly able to play for laughter, he
marched ahead, to the wonderment of the peasants in the
iields, who seemed to look on the company as a detach-
ment from the county lunatic asylum.
" Thomson preserved this tuneless instrument as a
memento of the first geological expedition in which he
had ever taken part. Two years afterwards, when we
were tramping through the east of Fife, and studying the
clift' section of the East Neuk, he one day, when we had
sat down for luncheon, perched himself on the edge of
the low clift', and, to the amusement of the party, pro-
duced his whistle, and began again the discordant ditties
which had so roused his class-fellows in the Highland
glens. I can, in imagination, see him now as he sat then,
with his legs dangling over the crag, his cloth cap pulled
over liis ears to shield them from the biting east wind,
his cheeks distended with the effort to extract audible
notes from his instrument, and his face showing the
utmost gravity, as he swayed his head from side to side
to keep time with the air he was trying to coax out of
the refractory whistle.
" I used to have parties of the students at my house
and I remember the last of these gatherings at which
Thomson was present. He volunteered a series of short
recitations, personating different characters and ranks of
44 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
life. It was an exceedingly clever performance, wliich
showed him in an entirely new light, and indicated a
versatility of adaptation and a knowledge of men and
manners which greatly surprised and interested me.
" After he left college I saw him only rarely. When
Keith Johnston asked me abovit a geologist to accompany
him on his African expedition, I had great pleasure in
strongly recommending Thomson. We all know how
admirably he justified the choice that was made of him."
( 45 )
CHArTEK IV.
TO THE CENTRAL AFPJCAN LAKES AND BACK.
The college session being finished, Joseph Thomson once
more turned his footsteps homewards. For a few weeks
he was content to rest, and, in the renewal of old associa-
tions and the revisiting of familiar scenes, to recover tone
after tlie labours of the winter. The pleasure of these
occupations kept him from the immediate sense of self-
dissatisfaction. But, as the weeks passed by, and the
superfluous energy of his nature craved for outlet, he
Ijecame increasingly aware of an anxious and unsettled
feeling. "What next ? was a question in relation to his
life which pressed itself upon his thoughts with fretting
insistency. It haunted him, and was, as he said, " eating
the life out of him."
It was open to him, of course, to join in his father's
business and to throw his energies into the work of its
development. But, whatever prospect of profit there
might be in that course, his heart turned from it. His
likings lay in a wholly different direction. He could be
satisfied with no career in which full scope was not to be
found for the exercise of his scientific tastes. His college
experiences had only deepened his devotion to research,
and in the success which he had attained lie had caught
glimpses of a possible future for himself far removed
from commerce. But where was the way of entrance into
that future to be found ?
The only hope that seemed to have any likeliliood of
46 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOPtER,
translating itself into reality "was that of Ids being ap-
pointed to the staff of the Geological Survey. But an
opening in this line might be long enough in presenting
itself; and how was he to exercise himself in the meantime?
It was while he was thus despondently " mooning
about in his native valley," that his opportunity came.
One morning he noticed in the newspaper a paragraph
wliich made his heart bound with excitement and interest.
It was to the effect that an expedition under Keith
Johnston was in course of preparation to proceed to East
Central Africa. The news came upon him with all the
force of a summons to service. Here, if Providence was
kind, was the very opening for him. The thwarted
ambition of his childhood leapt up into life again, and,
under an impulse which he felt to be resistless, he forth-
with wrote off, volunteering to go in any capacity whatever
and without salary.
At this time he was just twenty years of age, and with
his fair, fresh complexion he looked no more. When,
therefore, in the course of a few days he received a request
to meet with the president and African committee of
the Eoyal Geographical Society, he went with much tre-
pidation, anticipating that his boyish appearance would
at once put him out of the running. Undoubtedly his
youth did present a serious difficulty. The committee
naturally felt some doubt and hesitation as to whetlier
they were justified in appointing him. However, his
testimonials were undeniably good, his physique splendid,
and his enthusiasm manifest, and these all made their
due impression. In the speech which Sir Eutherford
Alcock, the chairman of the committee, made at the
presentation of the gold medal of the Eoyal Geographical
Society seven years later, he' said, "I well remember
scanning Mr, Thomson and thinking I could see a good
deal of character and determination in his face." Mean-
time influential friends, hearing of his application,
strongly interested themselves in his favour, among these
TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKES AND BACK. 47
being Professor Geikie, who could speak with fullest
knowledge, and also Professor Seeley, who had somehow
met him at the British Association and, struck by his
youthful devotion to science, had become one of his
correspondents. His two geological papers, as printed in
the transactions of the Dumfries Scientific Society, were
heard of and sent for. The result was that, after an
interval of racking uncertainty on his part, he received
intimation that his application had been entertained.
But the appointment which he had received was one
which brought with it some elements to temper his
pleasure. To his surprise and annoyance he found him-
self designated, " Geologist and Naturalist to the Ex-
pedition." This was more than he bargained for, and,
with his modest views of his own attainments, he could
only feel humiliated by the responsibility so unexpectedly
laid upon his shoulders.
" I am in great tribulation of spirit," he writes to
a correspondent, " and I come to unburthen my woes to
your sympathetic ear. My disease arises from a too
rapid development of my fame. The first shock to my
sensibilities was received when I figured as ' Geologist ' in
The Academy. Then I was struck all of a heap l)y
finding that Nature and The Times were both so unfortu-
nate as to ' believe that I had received an excellent training
as a geologist,' and that they ' expected I would make
important contributions to our knowledge of the geology
of the region to be visited.' And then, to make confusion
worse confounded. Bates, the secretary of the Eoyal
Geographical Society, describes me as ' Geologist and
Naturalist ' to tlie four principal scientific societies here.
" Now, what is a poor unfortunate to think who is next
to launched on the ocean without a compass at the age
of twenty, new from a short term on the irons and with
no experience ? Don't you think it really too liard to
raise expectations of such a brilliant character ? I am
48 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
continually asking myself if I am not like a mushroonl
which appears suddenly in the night and disappears
nearly as rapidly under the light of day. It is not often
that people have to complain of a too rapid development
of theii' fame, but I find myself in that predicament.
May heaven grant that all expectations be realised ! but
I would have thanked heaven very heartily if there had
been no expectations."
He was, however, not the person to become faint-hearted
under responsibility, or to shrink from a task because of
its mere difticulty. So, as was to be expected, he calmly
accepted the situation and proceeded to make the most of
the time at his disposal. He took a lodging at Kew on
September 15th, and from that day until his departure,
two months later, he spent every available moment in
museums, libraries, or the Botanic Gardens, ascertaining
what was already known of the natural history and
geology of East Africa. AVith respect to geology, he found
the information available to be of the most meagre
description. To Armstrong he writes : " I have been
hunting about for geological scraps over the entire
libraries of the Geographical and Geological Societies, and
you would be surprised at the little that is known."
These scientific grubbings he varied by the taking of
lessons in swimming and boxing.
During those two months he was introduced to a
number of distinguished men of science, including Sir
Joseph Hooker, who drew out a list of instructions for
his use. Professor Oliver, Mr. Smith and Dr. Woodward
of the British Museum, Sir llawson Ilawson and others.
His chief mentor and helper, however, during that time
of preparation was Mr. Bates, of Amazon fame, the acting
secretary of the Eoyal Geographical Society, whom he
describes as " an exceedingly pleasant old gentleman,
ever ready to be of service, and continually priming me
with ^•aluable confidential hints."
TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKES AND BACK, 49
To Keith Johnston, as his chief, he came prepared to
stand on the most loyal and kindly footing. He saw him
for a little every day, and was anxious to develop some
sense of comni'lesliip — apparently, however, not witli
conspicuous success. He thought Johnston " a very nice
fellow, hating all fuss," but felt that " his conversational
powers were not very remarkable, whicli made it some-
what difficult to get along sometimes." This reserve lie
hoped would wear away, as they entered more fully into
the fellowship of tlieir appointed work, and got to know-
each other better.
The work appointed for the expedition was the explora-
tion of the unvisited region between Dar-es-Salaam and
Lake Nyassa, with the view of finding a practical route to
the interior by which the great chain of central lakes
might be connected in some better way than hitherto with
the east coast. If the stores held out, they were to
continue their investigations as far as Lake Tanganyika,
the nature of the country between the two lakes being as
yet quite unknown. It did not seem proljable that more
than this could be accomplished witli the funds at the
disposal of the expedition. Even this scheme, however,
gave promise of no small experience of perils and hard-
ships.
But, to the ardent and light-hearted young enthusiast
rejoicing in the exuberance of liealth and energy, of how
little account were all possil)le privations wlien compared
with the joys of peering into hidden regions and of reaping
a rich harvest of knowledge in the interests of civilisation
and science ? Moreover, as he was only second in com-
mand, the sense of burden did not weigh so heavily upon
his mind. He had, indeed, in the agreement which he
signed, bound himself to take command and carry out
the objects of the expedition, in the event of anything
happening to deprive it of Johnston's leadership. But a
look at his chief's athletic form, so thoroughly inured by
hardy exercise and by experience of travel elsewhere, was
E
50 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
suflficient to banish every anxious thoiiglit and make tlie
bond seem more a name tlian a reality. It was therefore
only witli the spirit of cheerful anticipation that he viewed
the advent of the day when he was to set sail for the scene
of his chosen life-work.
At 3 P.M. on the 14th of November, 1878, the ss.
Assyria, with Johnston and himself on board, cleared out
of the Victoria Docks, London, amid drenching rain. The
last adieus were waved to his father and friends on shore,
and he was fairly started on his long and hazardous
enterprise.
The voyage began in a tempestuous fashion, and for the
first three days the experiences of the passengers were
anything but enviable. On the 18th, however, the
\\'eather greatly improved, and from that time on to the
12tli of December, when Aden was reached, pleasure and
merriment reigned on board.
To the young man, "\\'ho had hitherto known nothing but
insular quietness in his life, but who was saturated with
the spirit of romance, and open-eyed and resporsive to all
the wonder of the new world into which he was being
borne, every new scene was an object of delight and
interest. His first glimpse of Africa was one fitted to
fascinate his mind, when, on the morning of the 21st,
" the notched and grooved peaks of the Atlas appeared
in the south, lighted up with the roseate hues of the
rising sun," and calling up " picturesque imaginations of
the wandering INIoors who peopled its rocky recesses."
He thought not that some day in the yet hidden future
he was to see it without tlie poetic gilding.
He enjoyed a few hours asliore at Algiers, where, hastily
passing by the Ijoulevards and everything that reminded
him of Europe, he plunged into the native quarter, and,
amid the sights and sounds of a purely Mohammedan
scene, he revelled in the varied sensations of mingling
Avith North African life. A day and a half were spent at
Port Said, which he found to be, morally and physically,
TO THE CENTRAL AFKICAN LAKES AND BACK. 51
a sickening place, '' evidently used," he said, " as a harbour
for the earthly agents of the devil and an easy entrance to
and from the loM^er regions." Similar rambles were per-
mitted to him in the tropical Arabian towns of Jidda
and Hodeida, which he eagerly took advantage of to
familiarise himself with other aspects of the East.
There was a fortniglit of delay at Aden l^efore the
steamer for Zanzibar would start. This he utilised in
paying a visit to Berbera, 150 miles off on the African
coast, where a great native fair was being held, and where,
in the characteristic commingling of the wild Somali and
other interior tribes, he could feel himself for the first time
face to face with the native barbarism of the Dark
Continent, and get some idea of the real people he would
have to deal with. In this little trip he had also other
foretastes of the realism of African travel, in the miseries
of two- days and a half spent each way in an open native
boat packed M'ith filthy Arabs, he being sick all the
time and lying amid the never-ceasing fumes of hateful
tobacco smoke, without a shelter from the blazing sun in
the daytime or from the chilling dew at night. He had
compensations, however, in the variety of interesting-
characters which he met at Berbera, and in the oppor-
tunity of making a geologising excursion to the hills
under an escort of cavalry — a full account of which he
sent home in the form of a paper for the Eoyal Geo-
graphical Society, entitled, " Four days in Berbera."
Zanzibar was reached on January 5th, 1879. There
tlie travellers were received with characteristic kindness
l>y Dr. Kirk, a man not only distinguished in many
callings, as doctor, explorer, scientist, diplomatist, but one
M'ho, by his wise, energetic, untiring efforts as consul-
general at Zanziljar, has made his mark more indelibly
upon the history and destiny of East Africa than any
other single individual. He, of all men, was in sympathy
with their mission, and made every provision for rendering
their sojourn agreeable,
E 2
52 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
The five months that must elapse before a suitable
season for beginning their journey should arrive, they
spent in various useful ways. "While Johnston was l)usy
studying the different possible routes, inquiiing, planning,
purchasing, Joseph Thomson was no less busy in his own
special line. Besides throwing himself heartily into the
study of Kiswahili under the able and kindly guidance
of Bishop Steere, he went out in all directions about the
island on natural history excursions. These useful occu-
pations, together with a variety of sight-seeing and sport,
the frecpient enjoyment of Dr. Kirk's splendid hospitality,
a grand reception by the Sultan, and the meeting with all
kinds of interesting people, including several distinguished
travellers, kept the time from hanging lieavy on his hands.
By the end of February the necessary preparations
were well advanced. It was then resolved to make a sort
of trial trip to the famous forest region of Usambara on
the mainland. This would give them a foretaste of coming
experiences, and help them to realise more clearly the
conditions of African travel.
The marvellous scenery, which unfolded itself as they
toiled up and up among the mountains, filled the young
explorer with enthusiasm. Now they passed through
precipitous gorges rich with every feature of natural
laeauty. Anon, they moved with awed step amid the
gloom and eerie stillness of the primeval forest, where
every tree was a monster shooting up from a hundred to
two hundred feet in height. The sights of the day and
the sounds of the night awakened, as ^\•ith a magic
influence, all the poetry of his nature, until he was almost
weary witli pure er'oyment. And when, to the rich
supply of natural delights, there was added the spice of
varied adventures, it may well be imagined that this brief
exploratory excursion was one fitted to inspire him with
eager anticipation of what was yet to come. " Never
shall I forget my first sight of tliis grand forest," he writes
to Armstrong. " I do not exaggerate when I state that I
H G S BAST AFRICAN EXPEDITION 1879 80 AND ROVUMA EXPEDITION 1881
To THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKES AND BACK. 53
felt stunned, and that in my five days' sojourn in it I
walked as one in a maze."
Immediately on his return from this interesting region
he embodied his observations on its fauna in a paper for
the Society. He also wrote a paper on the geology of the
district.
In Zanzibar, he was, of coui'se, not without experience
of the fevers and other disagreeable accompaniments of
African life. But in his exuberant health and buoyancy
he made light of these drawbacks, and only took them as
part of the necessary seasoning which was to fit him for
his chosen task.
In the two months following tlie Usambara trip, how-
ever, Johnston seemed very much out of sorts. He went
on doggedly with the necessary preparations ; but as he
became increasingly taciturn and morosely reserved, his
young companion began to regard him with anxious
misgivings. Evidently his leader felt that there was
something seriously wrong with himself ; but as Johnston
was entirely uncommunicative he could only look on
sympathetically and hope for tlie best.
By the time when the rainy season was approaching its
close, he had had quite enough of the life of Zanzibar,
however interesting in itself. He had "ot all that could
be obtained in the way of education for his task ; he had
learned to have confidence in himself, and he w\as eagerly
longing for a final start.
At last the day came for which he had wearied. On the
13th of May a farewell visit was paid to the Sultan, who
treated the travellers with charming courtesy. Next day
the expedition, with all its impi'dimciita, was embarked
on board the Sultan's steamer Star, for transport to the
starting point at Dar-es-Salaam. A day or two was
usefully spent there in giving the final touches to the
work of organisation, witli the valuable help of Dr. Kirk.
On the 19th the travellers bade adieu to their friend and
began their hazardous march.
54 JOSEPPI THO:\ISOX, AFFvIOAN EXPLOREn.
The caravan numbered one hundred and fifty men, at
their head being the experienced and faithful Chuma
(whose name has become familiar to all readers of
Livingstone's life), and the cheery and energetic Maka-
tubu. Some seventy-eight of the men carried guns. In
every respect the equipment of the expedition was practi-
cally perfect. " A better organised caravan," said Dr. Kirk,
" never left the sea-coast for the interior." All were full
of hope and enthusiasm and high spirits — too soon, alas,
to be shadowed by anxiety and sorrow !
For the first month, the marching, though dreary and
trying enough, amid the rough and swampy coast low-
lands, was without misliap. But the rains continued
three weeks longer than had been expected, and in an
atmosphere reeking with malarial poison, poor Johnston's
illness (which had reasserted itself at Dar-es-Salaam), in
place of passing off developed into an alarming attack of
dysentery. As he was eager to get to Behobeho before
resting, they pushed on, carrying their disabled leader,
and trying to alleviate his sufferings as best they might.
He did reach Behobeho ; but it was only to read with
dimming eyes the letters from friends which had reached
him from the coast, and then, after a day or two of
increasing weakness and frequent nnconsciousness, to pass
into the last silence. He had but crossed the threshold of
his great enterprise and he had fallen, leaving the ripening
harvest of his hopes unreaped, and giving one more sad
illustration of the pathos of death's inexorable call.
Xow had come the supreme crisis of Joseph Thomson's
life. It had come in an agonising form, and it had come
not only with appalling suddenness, Ijut with an im-
perative demand for instant decision, wliich left little
space for thought. It is not often that the " tide in the
affairs of men," which makes or mars their future, comes
upon them with such an overwhelming flood of distrac-
tions. But the crisis had to be faced and grappled with !
"What was he to do ?
TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKES AND BACK. 55
The arguments against going on were plain enough.
The way before him was long and dark. The difficulties
and dangers of the enterprise were enormous. Then, he
was but twenty-one years of age, without experience or
the special knowledge required in a leader — a mere boy,
whose explorations had all been done in his dreams. To
GLIMrSE OF CAMP LIFE.
proceed might simply mean disaster and death. Yet,
what if it did ? Could he purchase escape from such a
possible end at the cost of admitted failure and liumilia-
tion in his own eyes and of tlie eclipse of his aspirations
in their very dawning ?
The occasion was, indeed, one of those emergencies
which cannot be paltered witli, but which go rudely right
5G JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOHER.
down to the reality in an individual and reveal him to
himself and to the world. In an instant, Joseph Thomson
discovered his own manhood. . With his foot at the portal
of the unknown, he could not linger a moment on the
thought of going back. Was he not a Scotsman ? A
countryman of Bruce, Park, Grant, Livingstone ? Was it
not a prize worth suffering for to join that noble band of
self-denying men, who in the Dark Continent had made
the name of their country famous ? ]Moreover, could he
doubtfully consider consequences in the doing of his
duty ?
The answer of his heart was clear and firm. Though at
the time he was physically ])rostrate with fever, there was
no wavering of purpose. Moreover, his men must see
nothing to suggest sucli a thing. Cabnly he arrang^.d to
give his fallen chief reverent burial and to mark for
future seekers the place of his rest ; and calmly he gave
the orders to march forward.
No doubt Chuma and some of the more shrewd and
experienced of hib followers wondered. But there is, in
the right dealing with a great crisis, not only that which
gives a man the mastery of himself, but a subtle some-
thing which makes others feel the spell of his mastery too.
Manifestly, this was a case in point. Not a word of doubt
or questioning was uttered, Joseph Thomson might be but
a boy in years and looks, but his men felt that in tone
and bearing he was every inch a master; and at his word
they unquestioningly resumed their journey.
His own condition, as they left Behobeho on the
morning of July 2nd, was not reassuring. His brain was
reeling, and his limbs felt so weak that he liad " in-
continently to sit down to prevent a fall." A few minutes
in the open air, however, soon steadied him, and with a
resolute heart he set forward.
The nature of his marches before and after Behobeho is
vividly described in one of his letters written at that
place. Over large tracts at fiist, he says, "it was one
TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKES AND BACK. 57
continuous tramp through marshes, with water from ankle
to waist deep." Succeeding this was "a soul-wearying
stretch of country, one uniform level sandy plain,
covered with scraggy stunted trees, and quite devoid of
flowers."
" If you want," he continues, " to get some idea of what
an African road is like, I would advise you to go out to
some moorland place after rain, and march up and down
in one of the drains for two or three hours. If there is a
loch near at hand, vary your walk with a ramble into it,
and now and then perambulate over some piece of dry
ground. The eftect w411 be highly realistic.
"At five o'clock in the morning the drums beat as
a sort of reveille, and in half an hour we arc ready for
breakfast — tents down, boxes tied up. Another half hour
sees us under way. We generally make one march of it,
stopping for the day, according to circumstances, between
11 A.M. and 1 VM. Up go the tents and into mine I
crawl, where, after an infinite amount of perspiration
and w^riggling, I contrive to get into dry clothes. I then
emerge on carnivorous thoughts intent.
" We rejoice in a wonderful sameness in our food.
Fowls and rice greet us morning, noon and night, with
sometimes an egg or two as a variety. But, what won't
go down with a good appetite ? If you could look into
my pocket on the march, you would probably there find a
cob of boiled Indian corn, to allay the pangs of the inner
man while pushing along.
" We have got a remarkable ' boy ' who attends on us,
and glories in such vagaries as cleaning the plates with
tlie skirt of his Jcanzit (the shirt-like dress of the Zanzibari).
When that Icanzu was cleaned, or what other articles it
has cleaned, we have resolved never to inquire, as the
knowledge might be disastrous to our appetites. Of
course, he has been supplied with innumerable cloths,
but I suppose the bartering spirit is too much for him.
58 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOIIER.
The kuives and spoons he wipes clean (!), when not
observed, with his fingers."
The quality of Joseph Thomson's leadership was soon
put to a sharp test by the sudden appearance of a war
party of the much-feared Mahenge. The word, Mahenge !
spoken with bated breath, and hoarsely whispered along
the line of porters, was enough to produce a panic. Down
went the loads, and in a moment the caravan was on
the verge of a calamitous rout. Fortunately the dreaded
warriors had not yet caught sight of the company, and
hastening to the front, the leader, partly by threats, but
mainly Ijy his own coolness, reassured his terror-stricken
men. Prompt measures one way or another were needed,
and it required but a moment or two of thought to enable
him to take his decision. The natural impulse of a
weaker man would have been to trust to his guns. But
Joseph Thomson took a bolder course — a course which
was not only nobler, but which proved in this and many
a similar crisis to be safer by far, though it required
infiuite nerve to take it. Leaving all weapons behind
him, he stepped out into the open among the naked,
hideously-painted, feather-crowned savages, very much to
their astonishment. Proclaiming that he and his party
were friends, and acting as if he took it for granted that
the Mahenge meant to be equally friendly, he carried his
point instantly by a mere tour dc force ; and tlms an
emergency which might have ended the expedition was,
to the infinite relief of all, turned into an occasion of
fraternising. We mention this incident because it illus-
trates in a typical way the fearlessness of the young
explorer, the spirit of self-control and tactful forbearance
in which he entered upon his life-work, and tlie Ijasis of
moral influence u])on which was gradually Ijuilt up his
men's boundless confidence in him in times of peril.
Leaving the dreary district of Uzaramo behind, and
traversing, amid a variety of trials and adventures, the
TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKRS AND BACK. 59
richer countries of Ukhutii and Malien^e, he at last
reached, about the beginning of August, the base of the
great central plateau. His attainment of that point was
to him an infinite relief, for it marked the completion of
the first, and in some respects one of the most trying
parts of his journey, " where the European is first
brought face to face with the hardships of travel, and
where he must ever be ready to do battle with disease and
danger, and be ever on the alert against desertion and
stealing."
His retrospect of the journey thus far was in every way
encouraging. He had in these months gained valualjle
experience. He had, partly by firm treatment, and partly
by a wise humouring of their prejudices and weaknesses,
got his men disciplined to loyalty and trust. He had
established his own faith in gentle methods, in dealing
with the ignorant and wayward tribes. And it was with
no small satisfaction that he could say he had " left
l}ehind him nothing but goodwill and friendship, teaching
the natives that his mission was peace and that the word
of the white man could be trusted." This good beginning
was representative of all that was to follow.
On the details of the journey for the next eight or nine
months it would be impossil;)le to dwell here. These
must be read in his own book ; we can but give the barest
outline of his stirring story.
Entering upon the inner plateau, he traversed with
infinite difficulty the great desolate moorland region of
Uhehe and Ubena, 4000 to 5000 feet in elevation. It
was a veritable life and death struggle. He was ill all
the time with rheumatic fever, and could often only keep
himself erect with the support of two men ; indeed several
times he did fall through sheer exhaustion. Yet march
he must, for the spectre of hunger ever shadowed them,
and the bleak winds by day and rains by night were
chilling the life out of his men.
The first plateau led to a second and higher one, with
00 JOSEPH THOMSON, APlUCAN EXPLORER.
a general level of 7000 to 8000 feet, inhabited Ly negro
ti'iljes of tlie most miseraljle and degraded type, represent-
ing in fact both physically and mentally almost a caricature
of humanity. Descending from these hideous and in-
hospitable regions, they pressed on eagerly for the lake.
Nyassa was at last sighted; its sliore, nearly 4000 feet
below, could, however, only be reached by the most
precipitous and perilous descent. They did contrive to
get safely down ; but every man of the company was
completely worn out.
After resting a few days at Nyassa he pushed on over
the rich, and hitherto quite unexplored, tract between
that lake and Tanganyika, now rejoicing in the arcadian
simi)licity of one trilje, anon having hard work to protect
liimself against the perverseness and rapacity of others,
Init everywhere finding that persuasion was mightier than
wilfulness, and that patience was a panacea for most of
their trouliles. Patience he found to be indeed a virtue
hard to maintain in many a situation, for his continued
fevers made him weak and irritable. But he had laid
down a law for himself in this matter, and however
].rovoking the people might be, he was always able by an
effort of will to keep the mastery of his spirit. It was not
the people alone that tried his temper. The follies and
little tricks of his men kept him continually on the
stretch, and made it hard for him not to lose his self-
control. "When it came to a test of wits, however, he was
generally " one too many " for them, and the laugh was
pretty sure to end on his side. So he traversed in order
the countries of Makula, Nyika, Inyamwanga, Mambwe
and Ulungu.
On the 3rd of November Tanganyika was reached at
its southernmost point — an event which was celebrated
with due demonstrations of delight. On the lake he
launched his collapsible boat, which he had named The
A(jncs, in honour of his much -loved mother far away, and
rowed round to Pambete, the caravan following by land.
TO THE CENTRAL AFEICAN LAKES AND BACK. 61
At this place his career nearly found an inglorious ter-
mination, for, while bathing in the lake, lie had the
narrowest escape from being eaten by a crocodile. Not
many days later, at another place, he was in ecj^ual peril
from the visit of a lion, which paced, and snilfed, and
growled round his solitary tent for a good part of a night,
he expecting every moment that his flimsy protection
would be rent asunder, and himself torn to pieces.
The arrival at Tanganyika marked the completion of
the duty set by the Society, But there was no thought
of return until many more mysteries should have been
solved. Two things, at least, there were which he could
not return without attempting to deal with ; these were
the exploration of the unknown western side of the lake,
and the final settlement of the moot question of the
Lukuga outlet, concerning which Stanley and Cameron
had propounded such conflicting theories. Then, after
these, there was the survey of the Congo, which had been
begun by Livingstone, and carried furtlier by Stanley, but
still waited to be finished. Might not he, if fortune was
favourable, strike westward, and endeavour to crown tliat
interesting work ?
Camping the majority of the men therefore, under
Chuma, at lendwe, on the southern shore of the lake,
lie proceeded with a picked company of thirty men. The
circumstances under which he began this self-appointed
part of his work were certainly anything but pleasant.
He was ill from the very start ; so much so, indeed, tliat
he says he " could often have walked with the most
philosophical resignation into the lake." As a matter of
fact, he could only keep going by the sheer determination
of an indomitable will. Moreover, in the Warungu he
had a most excitable and suspicious set of savages to deal
with. Every hour thought and nerve were on the strain,
and again and again it only wanted a momentary failure
of presence of mind, or an ill-considered word, to bring
about the most lamentable consequences.
62 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
Tlie Warungu had, of course, never seen a white man,
but they knew wlmt an Arab slave-trader meant, and not
unnaturally they took the traveller and his followers
for a slave-hunting party — a fact which roused them to
a demoniac excitement. ]\Iore than once the axe was
uplifted to dash out his brains, and the arrow drawn
to the head to pierce his heart. It was only his perfect
coolness that saved him. It inspired even the most
furious with a kind of superstitious awe. They could
have understood any resort to arms in self-defence, and
would have finished their deadly work in a moment.
But they knew not what to make of this calm white
stranger, wlio bore no weapon in his liand, and who met
their frenzied demonstrations only with a smile and a word
of friendship. He seemed to them a being " uncanny,"
and they dared not hurt him.
The elements of Nature were as unpropitious as the
people, and the travelling had to be done amid the
mcurimvm of physical discomfort. As they toiled on,
over mountains running to 7000 feet high, they seemed
to be passing through the very home of storms. To
quote his own words : —
" The rainy season had fairly set in, with all the fury
characteristic of the tropics, and the very floodgates of
heaven seemed to have opened to deluge the land ; yet
through the remorseless downpour we must march hour
after hour, and day after day. The huge rolling thunder-
clouds overspread the heights, and the thunder, with
appalling roar, echoed and re-echoed on every side. Now
it was above us — the lightning flashes ever and anon
splitting the clouds open with their awful power. Then
we M'ere in the midst of it, with view circumscribed by
the enveloping darkness, while the ground shook, and
we instinctively cringed with dread, as the gloom was
suddenly dispelled for an instant with blinding effect.
Passing upwards, we would next stand triumphant upon
TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKES AND BACK. 63
some savage peak, and look down on the incessant war of
elements. And with what a wild exultant excitement
did we watch the grand scene beneath ! The rugged
mountains and valleys, with the murky clouds rolling in
intense masses around them ; the swollen, lieadlong
torrents adding tlieir monotonous roar to the ever-renewed
thunderpeals ; while the resistless wind whistled through
the trees, l)ending them like straws."
After a five weeks' journey, involving labours and
trials in wdiich the life of months seemed to have been
expended, he at last, on Christmas Day, stood beside the
Lukuga outlet.
Wliat he saw came to him with all the piquancy of a
great surprise. He had come expecting, from Cameron's
account, to find a " swampy lazy stream, winding im-
perceptibly amid huge sedges, papyrus, and jungle tracts,"
but lo ! there rushed past at his feet " a swift resistless
current," bearing its broad mass of waters onward wdth
swirling eddies. Stanley's prophecy had been verified.
The mud barrier which he saw damming up the waters
of the lake had, as he said it would, been swept away, and
through the opening had poured such a body of water,
that already there were evidences of Tanganyika having
lowered its level as much as eight or ten feet.
The satisfaction of having finally settled this niuch-
deliated problem was to him a sufficient Christmas feast,
and he gladly gave himself up to a day or two of well-
earned rest at Kasenge. But it was only for a brief time
that he could allow himself for a breathing space, and
presently we find him afloat in a slave-trader's boat, bound
for Ujiji on the eastern side of the lake. The voyage
was a miserable one, and it culminated in a frightful mid-
night storm, after which he was literally washed ashore into
the arms of the London ]\Iissionary Society's agent there.
His troubles and illnesses, however, could not dry u]>
the fountain of his geniality. He had nothing but his
wonted playfulness in writing to his friends. In a letter
64 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
from Ujiji to his sister-in-law at Greenock^ on the birth
of her eldest child, he says : —
" On Xew Year's Day, feeling somewhat gloomy as I
thought of home and the annual gathering there, there
was put into my hand a packet of letters, and among
these there was one containing the interesting intelligence
of the appearance of another Joe ready to replace me, etc.
This cheered me immensely. I may now go forth,
thought I, and fearlessly penetrate into the \vildest parts.
There is a Joe at home — like me, of course — and what
use is there in keeping human duplicates in this world of
distress, where elbows have to be used so constantly to
get through the world at all ? But there ! I think I
have gone ftu" enough in a letter intended to be con-
gratulator3\ I can hardly tell you how pleased I was
to read the news, or what soothing thoughts it had raised
in my mind. I have sat and pictured Master Joe in
jolly mood — of course he must be a jolly fellow — sitting
on your knee, while you sing to him ' Oh, let us be joyful,'
and rejoicing in your own happiness. Such thoughts, I
assure you, do one a world of good after the rough scenes,
the almost daily quarrels with one's own men, not to
speak of the thousand and one troubles and annoyances
which beset one's path. I shall often, in my weary or
sick hours, transport myself to Greenock, and, unknown
to you, see Master Joe in the various pleasing phases
which childhood presents ; and if I find him crying and in
pain, I may drav/ the comforting reflection that even this
helpless babe has its troubles — wliy then need I grumble
at my hardsnips ? And so on.
" I have spent quite a jolly Xew Year's holiday at
Ujiji. Delightful time. Mr. Hore, the missionary here,
has just devoted himself to me.
"I will have a glorious route to go back — completely
unknown, but believed to be of the most interesting
character. The Society have added £500 to the original
TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN LAKES AND BACK. 65
grant, and left me to go where I please. If my calcula-
tion holds good, I shall be home within seven months."
At Ujiji he managed to secure some fresh stores,
preparatory to his dash for the Congo. Thereupon he
recrossed the lake, and set his face westwards.
For the first sixty miles or so, among the Waguha, he
contrived to get on fairly well. But in the Warua tribe
he found an obstacle against which neither courage nor
diplomacy could prevail. For once he had to confess
himself baffled.
For weeks the party marched in ceaseless peril of their
lives, the victims of endless maddening annoyances. It
was like forcing one's way througli swarms of angry
liornets. The men were all armed with guns, but their
ammunition was exhausted, and probably, if the Warua
had had the slightest idea how harmless they were, not a
life would have been worth an hour's purchase. Coolness
and "the game of bluff" were their only resources, and
the young leader kept up the superstitious fear of the
white man's weapons by judiciously using his few re-
maining cartridges in making as impressive a show of
marksmanship as he could with his express rifle. Thus
day l)y day he warded off an impending catastroplie,
though never for a moment unconscious of its shadow.
At last, his men, in terror, fairly mutinied just as he was
within a day's journey of the river, and there was no course
left him but to take a Pisgah view of what he believed to
be the great Congo valley and retrace his steps to the hike,
where he arrived despoiled and humbled, but thankful to
find himself in the flesh at all.
A sail of two hundred miles in a canoe along the
eastern shore of Tanganyika supplied a romantic as well
as healthful variation of his exploratory adventures, and
brought him back to the camp at lendwe. There he
found all well, and met with a reception that brought
tears into his eyes. His men had given him up for lost,
F
66 JOSErH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
and they were simply wild with delight to see hiiu
again.
Homeward ! was now the word of order. War made it
impossible to carry out his plan of proceeding straight
east to Kilwa, so he had no choice but to strike luirth-
ward to the caravan route at Unyanyembe. The inter-
vening three hundred and fifty miles of unexplored
territory- — through Fipa, Ukhonongo and Ugunda — he
covered with great rapidity, making, in course, a flying
visit to Lake Leopold (Lake Hikwa), which he was the
first white man to see, and to which he gave the name it
now bears.
At Unyanyembe he paused for a few days, in prepara-
tion for the final rush to the coast. In a letter dated
27th May, 1880, which he wrote from this place to his
fellow-student Williamson, he says : —
" My march is nearly over. I have got Ijack intu well-
beaten tracks, and am even occupying a house where
nearly every Englishman who has entered this region of
Africa has lain and groaned over his fevers, his delays,
and the thousand and one troubles incidental to African
travel. Livingstone waited here with patient resignation
for months, ruminating no doubt now on the great lake,
anon on the ' great open sore of the world.' Stanley
barricaded and loopholed its walls in the war with
Mirambo. Here Cameron groaned over his fevers and his
delays ; and before me rises the picture of JMurphy, stout
and burly, sinking with a groan to the ground, and Dillon,
blind and helpless, lying wearily on his couch. In later
times Captain Carter, of elephant fame, had to flee from
the house as from a house infected, and but a few days
ago his Scotch assistant and two Belgians were on the
point of shooting each other with their revolvers ; and
last of all, to close this ' strange eventful history,' here
lies yours truly resting from his long and lonely morcli,
and feeling as if his work was o'er. Since I wrote to you
^Chuma)
EETIE'WING THE EXPFDITIOX.
To THE CENTRAL AElUCAN LAKES AND BACK. 69
I have had an eventful and romantic time of it with hard
marches and hard fare — now flying as from a valley of
the shadow of death, anon knocking about among the
romantic creeks and bays of Tanganyika in an old ' dug-
out,' paddled in time to the wild songs of the Wajiji,
living on beans or Indian corn or cold sugarless tea, and
sleeping as comfortably as bare planks and acute angles
in a cramped position would aUow, exposed without
shelter to wind and rain. But in whatever position one
is placed in this world something of beauty appears — a
daisy meets the eye, or a sweet sound the ear. And who
would have thought that in those far-off wilds the sounds
of a fine 1200 franc hurdy-gurdy would meet the ear and
charm it, as the tunes of one's own native land swell, and
like some sweet afflatus waft you into dreamland ?
" I have had a great reception amongst the Arabs, all
expressing their astonishment at the route I have covered,
the short time I have taken to do it, and all on my own
legs. . , . We really made a brilliant display in our entry
to Unyanyembe, and took the place by storm. I hold
quite a levee all day" long — Arabs flocking in, from the
governor downwards, I feel quite amused when 1 look
around and see my guards at the door, a crowd of well-
dressed servants, marshalled by the famous Chuma, all
ready to attend my utmost wish, while every now and
then a gorgeously-dressed Arab appears with his train of
followers. The governor and his brother are a pair of
glorious old gentlemen, and have taken me under their
wing entirely. I say, when I see all this and look back
into other years, ' Certainlv the days of romance are not
yet past.' "
The remainincr five hundred miles from Unvanvembe
to the coast were as nothing to the men, who were in
splendid condition, and in the highest spirits. After a
journey of unprecedented speed, tliey reached Bagamoyo
70 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
on the 10th of July, and entered it " ^^'ith all the pomp of
a bloodless victory."
Joseph Thomson liad indeed accomplished a notable
feat, and he had done it in a spirit which not only his
Scottish countrymen, but all lovers of humanity, could
heartily approve. He had led his men over some three
thousand miles, more than the half of which lay through
regions unknown to the geographer. He had tactfully,
and with unstained liands, dealt with liostile and trouble-
some tribes so as to make it easier for other men to follow
him, and he had returned with his caravan unbroken and
loyal. He had, as yet, hardly passed the threshold of
manhood, but he had already established for himself the
right to be considered a worthy successor of Park and
Livingstone.
The authorities at Bagamoyo treated the weary travellers
with great distinction and lavish liospitality ; and wlien,
two days later, the caravan marched to the Consulate in
Zanzibar to be formally disbanded, the Sultan not only
.sent by a messenger his salaams and congratulations, but
took the unusual course of gladdening the men's liearts
with a present of money.
All the thoughts of the young leader were now of lioiue
and friends, and the first departing steamer bore him as
a passenger.
( 71 )
CHAPTER A\
UP THE ROVLTMA.
The closing days of August found Joseph Thomson once
more in London, en route for his native vaUey, whoso
well-loved scenes he was eager to see again. To step
ashore from the ship was to feel himself immediately
in touch with home ; for there on the landing-stage was
his father, who, joyful to know of his son's survival of
all perils, had come from Scotland to meet him. He
only remained in London long enough to report himself
at the headquarters of the Society, and then he was off
nortliward to realise his cherished dream of " revisiting
the clear flowing Nith and wandering upon its banks."
The father's eye was quick to note the change which toil
and trial and the burden and responsibility of command
had wrought upon him. He had set forth from home the
ruddy and exuberant youth. In the course of a short year
and a half he had been transformed into the thoughtful,
decided, self-reliant man, but with the laugh as of old
ever ready to light up his bronzed features.
As they passed Dumfries on the evening of August 30th,
there were awaiting him quite a number of friends, in-
cluding, among others, his old confidant, Dr. Grierson,
and his fellow-student, Williamson. Here also was
introduced to him one who soon became his intimate,
Alexander Anderson, " The Surfaceman," of poetic fame.
At Thornhill a pleasant and affecting surprise had been
prepared for him. As the train drew in to the station,
72 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOllEH.
the passeugers were startled by a series of loud explosions
from fog signals which had been placed on the line.
^Vlien they hastened to the windows they became aware,
from the banners flying and the playing of a band, that
some local demonstration was afoot, the centre of interest
being a quiet-looking youth who had just stepped from
the train, and with whom everybody was eager to shake
liands. A single inquiry made the situation clear to all,
for the papers had all been chronicling in eulogistic
terms the success of the expedition ; and as the train
moved on, the passengers mingled their hearty cheers
with those of the assembled crowd.
The district had felt itself honoured and had risen to
the occasion. The Town's Committee of Thornhill led
the way by resolving to present the returning traveller
with an address of welcome ; and it was this graceful act
which the great concourse had gathered to endorse with
their cheers. The recipient of these flattering attentions,
] laving no idea of the honour in store for him, was wholly
taken aback. "When he attempted to reply to the warmly
expressed greetings of the address, he found his heart too
full for words, and could only utter a single sentence of
thanks. The procession then reformed, and, placing him
with his friends at the head of it, escorted him to Gatelaw-
bridge. There his father's w^orkmen had planned to show
their enthusiasm by the erection of a triumphal arch, and
through tliat, amid honourable demonstrations, he was
borne to the old home, which he had sometimes almost
despaired of ever seeing again.
This kindly exhibition of goodwill was not all. His
old comrades in the Literary Society felt that they had
quite a special interest in this home-coming, and that it
behoved them also to have their feu dc joic. A few days
later, therefore, they entertained him with a supper, at
which they could express after their own fervid fashion
their sense of the fact that " Joe " had done worthily and
helped the society to make its mark. In the warm
Up the koVuma. 73
atmosphere of renewed fellowship he " found his tongue,"
and in his reply spoke even elot^uently. "\Ye only quote
a sentence or two of his speech, but they contain the
keynote of his whole career as a pioneer of civilisation.
" With regard to the results of the expedition I prefer
to say nothing. These have yet to be brought before
competent geograpliers, and till then the less said the
1 tetter. But, gentlemen, this I will say; my fondest
lioast is, not that 1 have travelled over hundreds of miles
Intherto untrodden Ijy the foot of white man, but that I
have been able to do so as a Christian and a Scotsman,
carrying everywhere goodwill and friendship, finding that
a gentle word was more potent than gunpowder, and that
it was not necessary, even in Central Africa, to sacrifice the
lives of men in order to throw light upon its dark corners."
In the month of Novemljer, the members of the Eoyal
(Geographical Society met to hear from the explorer
an account of his stewardship. Tliere was a large and
distinguished gathering, attracted not only by the intrinsic
interest of the story that was anticipated, but by the
special circumstances which had marked the history of
the expedition, and the fact that the leader who was to
address the assemblage was the most youthful who had
ever enjoyed that honour. The occasion was a trying one
for him, and he anticipated it with not a little trepidation.
When the moment came, however, something in the look
of the company suggested sympathy, or confidence in him,
and he felt he was safe. He became as cool as he before-
hand had been nervous, faced the audience without a
shake or quiver of the voice, and read his paper so that
not a point was lost.
His narrative was received with enthusiasm ; for he
had to tell of a satisfactory settlement of all the geo-
graphical problems to which the expedition was to direct
its attention. And not only had he filled in blanks in
the map, he had brought back rich spoils in scientific
74 JOSEPH tho;msox, African explorer.
results, for, though the cliaracter of his responsibilities
liad been entirely changed by the death of Johnston, his
original aim had never been allowed to fall out of sight.
He had examined the rocks and formations over the
whole ground which he had traversed, and was able to
give for the first time an intelligible and comprehensive
theory of .the geology of East Africa. Botany had also
been enriched by his collection of plants, and conchology
by the shells wdiich he had gatliered on Nyassa and
Tanganyika. Thorough work all round had been done,
and it received its reward of unreserved appreciation. At
the close. Sir Eutlierford Alcock said that the Society had
been extremely f<trtunate in their selection of a leader,
and he had worthily performed the task he undertook.
He (Sir Eutherford) did not know that there had ever been
a more successful exploration in Central Africa, or one
more complete in all its parts.
In recognition of the manner in which tlie work of the
expedition had been carried through, and in commemora-
tion of what the president had declared to be " the most
remarkable geographical event of the year," the Society
resolved to strike a medal for distribution among the
members of the caravan.
The character of his address to the Society aroused
in not a few quarters a keen desire to have a detailed
narrative of his journey and researches in book form.
From this proposal he strongly shrank. The idea sug-
gested a most irksome task. Moreover, while he wrote
with great fluency and natural vivacity, he was ko(!nly
conscious of certain literary deficiencies which might liave
stood in tlie way of his success. Means of overcoming
both difficulties, however, were promptly found, as ex-
plained Ijy himself in his preface, and forthwith the
preparation of the book was proceeded with. In his
journals he had abundance of material, for it had been his
habit — a habit which he kept up in all his expeditions,
and which gives the impression of vividness and vivacious-
UP THE ROVUMA. 75
ness to all his narratives of travel — to make his notes on
the spot wherever possiljle, and to chronicle all incidents
at the first available moment after they happened. The
work, therefore, made rapid progress during the winter
and spring months.
In the early sunnner of 1881, 'To the Central African
Lakes and Back' was published. It obtained a very
cheering reception, several editions being speedily disposed
of. It was also translated into German, and issued in
Jena, shortly after its appearance in England.
As a variation from his literary labour, he spent some
time in Edinburgh during the winter, renewing old associa-
tions. There it was that he made the acipiaintance of
Mr. J. M. Barrie, who was then finishing his college career
and making the beginnings of his brilliant success as a
litterateur. It was the recollection of " forgathernigs
with the young explorer, in the company of Anderson and
other kindred s})irits in Edinljurgh and London, that
furnished the material for the delicately humorous sketch
of him in " An Edinburgh Eleven."
It was probably at one of those happy meetings that
Alexander Anderson jokingly said that when he died in
the heart of Africa he would write a sonnet to his
memory. The event seemed in those light-hearted days
so far off, that Joseph Thomson laughingly insisted upon
the sonnet being written on the spot ; which it was, and
we give it as it flowed from the facile pen. It was a
frequent subject of humorous allusion afterwards, but alas,
it was more prophetic in substance than either writer or
suliject anticipated, for though Africa was not to be the
traveller's final resting-place, he was indeed to lay down
his young life in its interests.
J. T. out. 18—.
" Deail ia the wastes of Africa, while yet
youth with its numbers Lay upou his brow,
And unreaped age before him. lie is set
Among the fresh young pioneers ; and now
7G JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
He will be with them evermore. And we
Who lag behind, homesick, weary with longer life,
Watching that continent that yet shall be
Plouglitd into smiling harvest fields, and ripe
With what is now around us, shall we not —
AVith all these rich ripe wonders in our eyes, —
Shall we not link his name and that dear spot
Where, far f.om home and kindred graves, lie lies,
^I'o all the good and nobler breadth of sway
Which crowns that dusky nation of to-day?"
A few lectures on liis African adventures were deUverod
by luni at Thornhill, Loclimaben, Greenock ; and, when
the book was fairly off' his hands, he went up to London
that he might perfect his equipment as an explorer by
taking lessons in astronomical observation, photography,
and the like.
In quiet life like this, however, he could not long
remain content. He could enjoy for a while the pleasures
of the drawing-room, but a little of this went a long way
with him. He had an honest dislike to being lionised.
It bored him to be made to speak about his own exploits.
His strength was long ago thoroughly recruited, and he
craved for some fresh outlet for his overflowing vigour of
mind and body. It was just when that feeling began to
become acute that a new employment presented itself
which seemed entirely to his mind.
In his East African expedition of 1802, Livingstone had
visited the river Eovuma and found what he supposed to
be clear evidence of the existence of coal.
" At ]\richi," he says in his journal,* "about a hundred
miles from the coast, a few small pieces of coal were
picked up on the sandbanks, showing that this useful
mineral exists on the Eovuma and on some of its tribu-
taries. The natives know that it will burn. At the
lakelet Chidia we noticed the same sandstone rock with
fossil wood on it, which we have on the Zambesi, and
* ' The Zambesi and it. Tributaries,' pa^ej 427, 43f.
UP THE ROVUMA. 77
knew it to bo a sure evidence of coal beneath. We
mentioned this at the time to Captain Gardiner, and our
finding coal now seemed a verification of what we then
said : the coal-field probably extends from the Zambesi to
the Eovuma, if not beyond it."
The great traveller did not pretend, of course, to speak
with tlie technical knowledge of an expert ; but a report
of this kind, if adequately confirmed, pointed to possible
results of great importance to that part of the Sultan of
Zanzibar's dominions. To find a genuine coal-mine in
his section of the continent would, at least, be to tliat
potentate a manifest source of wealth, for the replenishing
of his never-too-full treasury. We need not wonder that
the imagination of successive sultans conjured up in
connection with it all manner of pleasant prospects.
First an Arab and then a Parsee engineer were despatched
by Sultan Seyed Barghash after his accession, to make
observations with respect to the reputed source of enrich-
ment. These behoved to report in terms agreeable to His
Highness ; and, although neither knew anything practically
about the subject, they spoke in glowing language as to the
al)undance of the vakiable mineral, and as to the ease
with which it could be obtained. His Highness had only
to make a little preliminary outlay, and presently his
coffers would be swelling with a great return. The Sultan
was naturally elated at these brilliant prospects. Why
should he not forthwith begin to realise his treasures ?
Jjut the impulse was meantime checked by a couns(d
of caution. Dr. Kirk, being apparently consulted by the
Sultan, thought it well that some further advice of a more
skilled character should be invoked. There, for instance,
was Thomson, whom His Highness had so recently seen, a
man trained to know all about rocks, and whom his
countrymen were praising for his skill and insight in
such matters. He would tell him the whole truth. Let
him be sent for.
78 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEER.
And so it came to pass that, just when time was
bej^nnning to hang heavy on his hands, Josepli Thomson
received the offer of an appointment " to determine and
report upon the nature, extent, and economic value " of
those reputed coal formations in East Africa. The
Saltan was quite sanguine in his own mind, as events
proved. He apparently only expected the young scientist
to confirm, and perhaps outrun, his own anticipations.
Joseph Thomson knew nothing of all this, and gladly
accepted the commission. It chimed in exactly with his
own wishes ; for it bore him back to the work of explora-
tion in Africa under most favourable auspices, and very
specially it gave him tlie opportunity of following out his
geological researches in an interesting part of the con-
tinent. Almost exactly a year, therefore, after he had left
Zanzibar, on the conclusion of his former expedition, he
again appeared there, ready and eager for active service.
Hurry, or even prompt action, is, however, a thing not
nnderstood in the official surroundings of Eastern princes.
He wanted to get the necessary men at once engaged, and
everything in order for a business-like start. " But," he
says, "the eccentric machinery of an Oriental Government
was hard to be moved. During the first fortnight nothing
could be done. First, ' I must rest after my voyage,' then
' 1 nnist wait till the mail had gone ' ; finally, ' Everything
would be arranged when something else was settled.' "
After about a hundred communications had been sent
without visible effect, he was beginning to think of letting
things drift, when all of a sudden the orders of the Sultan
came, to the effect that he M'as to be off to the Rovuma in
three days.
It was rather a large order to fit out a caravan in such
a space of time. But there was a piquancy in the very
bigness of the task, and lie was not the man to be beaten.
Within the appointed three days he was ready for the
road. But his anxieties were not yet ended. He was
ready, but his men were not. They had somehow got it
Ur THE IIOVUMA. 79
into tlieir heads tliat they had another day, and, in
prospect of their departure, every one of them, Chiuna
among the number, had gone in for a carousal, and they
were scattered over the citv. Where to c;et them was a
mystery. However, in his resolution to be up to time, he
impressed some four hundred of the Sultan's soldiers into
detective service for the occasion. And then ensued a
search royal. Any porter seen was to be seized, and
idcn iijiccl aftcnvards.
" There were of course some curious mistakes," lie writes
in a letter describing the affiiir, " but our numbers gradu-
ally rose. After nightfall the hunt became exciting. I
gained an insight into Zanzibar life such as I could not
have obtained in a year. Every drink shop, every bad
idace, every native house was visited. Two of the men
we found had just been married that day, and the brides
had to be left disconsolate. After twelve o'clock at night,
we had the satisfaction of conveying all my men, except
two, on board closely guarded. 1 was dead Ijeat, Ijut next
morning at daybreak I had the satisfaction of sailing out
triumphant, the men themselves enjoying the recital of
the incidents connected with their own capture, and
looking upon the whole as a good joke."
The expedition, started after this lively fashi(in, was,
despite all its toils, thoroughly enjoyed by its leader from
beginning to end ; for all through he revelled in good
health, and his experience saved him from many troul»les
and enabled him to evade many difficulties, which otherwise
might have taken a considerable discount off' his happiness.
The starting-point was Mikindany, some thirty miles
north of the liovuma. There also Livingstone had begun
Ids journey, but a (juite different route was now chosen.
The caravan numbered in all seventy-four, fifty-four of
these being of his old men, under Chuma and Makatulni
as before ; and the march began on the 17th of July, 1881.
Striking up to the plateau of Makonde, " the country
80 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
of bushes and creepers," tliey traversed with much painful
labour the tantalising tangle of thorny undergrowth which
covers its whole surface for about eighty miles inland.
After eight days of twisting and wriggling in this
confused jungle, they emerged on the further side of the
plateau to find the Eovuma valley spreading itself out in
a vast expanse to the south and east. Descending into
the plain, which seemed to be quite uninhabited — thanks
to the desolating slave raids of which Livingstone tells
sucli a sad tale — tliey pressed on to the river. This they
found to be " three quarters of a mile broad, with great
stretches of yellow sandbanks glittering under a vertical
sun," the banks being " particularly charming, from the
beauty and variety of the trees with whicli they are
clothed " — yellow-M^ood trees and tamarinds, elegant palms
and grotesque baobabs giving endless contrasts of sha[)e
and hue. Follov.^ing the course of the river, the line
which now forms the political frontier between the
(Jurman and Portuguese spheres of influence, they reached
the point where the Lujende blends its waters with those
of the Eovuma.
The Lujende proved to be much the larger of the two
confluents. At the point of union it was quite a mile
across. Every here and there rapids occur, which make
navigation a thing out of the question ; but in point of
picturesqueness the Lujende is very interesting. One of
its most striking features is the number of islands — some
of them three or four miles long — which dot its course,
and which give an appearance of great richness to the
scenery. " These islands," as Last tells us in his descrip-
tion of the district, " are not submerged during the wet
season, and therefore they form the permanent homes of
the people. Some of them are very beautifully wooded,
covered with large forest trees garlanded and festooned
with creepers."
Keeping to the course of the Lujende, and passing
through a fertile tract, many parts of which have tlie
tip tHE ROVUMA, SI
app6aiVance of "a long string of gardens," tliey found
themselves after a few marches on the spot where the
so-called coal was to be found, the Maviti village of Itule.
Alas for the Sultan's dream of commercial enrichment !
The suspicion of the young geologist that the coalfields
would prove mythical received only too complete fulfilment.
"To our disgust," says he, "we discovered that the coal
was nothing more than a few irregular layers of bitu-
minous shale, which when placed in a Avood fire emitted
a flame, but remained almost unchanged in bulk. It
does not even burn alone. Accompanying the shale,
we found small quantities of a curious anthracite-like
substance, which could be set on fire only with great
difficulty, but left more than fifty per cent, of ash."
Proceeding to a point two days further up the Lujende,
where the coal was said to be specially abundant, they
made further anxious observations and experiments ; but,
sad to say, with no better result, and as the series of beds
containing the shale finishes abruptly at this place, as
it had commenced al^ruptly at Itule, it became clear to
Joseph Thomson that the coal-beds of the Eovuma had
no existence.
Yet while, as regards its main object (the finding of
coal), the expedition, from the Sultan's point of view, was
a blank failure, it was, from the explorer's point of view,
valuable in its results, both in the matter of profit and
enjoyment.
Not that the journey was destitute of the ordinary hard
and trying experiences of African travel ; for at one time
he marched for some days in agony with a painful ulcer
on his leg, and at another time he and his men had to
face the terrors of journeying for days without water,
reducing them to a condition in which they were glad to
pay a heavy price for liquid mud, in which, at another
time they would hardly have condescended to wash their
hands. Truly, as he says, "African travelling, even in
the most favourable circumstances, is no rose-water work.
G
82 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORED.
To see any ' run ' in it at all one must not only be largely
endowed with the imperturljaljle optimism of Mark
Tapley, hut have a frame healtliy and robust and fitted to
bear fatigue and lieat and hardsldp in no ordinary degree,
besides rejoicing in an appetite neither delicate nor
fastidious."
IJoth in the outward and homeward journey he was
able to make most useful additions to his knowledge of
the geology of East Africa as well as of other matters less
recondite.
As for interesting sights, there were not a few " rare
noteworthy oljjects" in his travel which stay-at-home
people might well wish to see — such as the extraordinary
hills which dot the great llovuma valley, and which slioot
up abruptly from the plain in every variety of shape as
peaks, domes, cones, needles ; and very especially the
extraordinary mountain of Lipumbula, which rises like a
huge broken column 970 feet high, "a perfectly compact
mass of granite, almost without a single flaw or joint
except on one side," where the daring climber was able to
make a ditiicult and perilous ascent to the summit. Then
there was that " wonderfully picturesfpie gorge, grand
and weird in the extreme," through which the liovuma
llows at Undo (the furthest point in his journey), wliere
the immense rocks and boulders All the bed of tlie roaring
river, and tlie smooth, symmetrical, dome-like mountains
of granite rise on either side with scarcely a crack or
irregularity.
Sport too was here ideal. The great plain, though
destitute of human life for the most part, was a perfect
hunter's paradise, for "it literally swarmed with game"
of every variety tliat the most enterprising Ximrod could
sigh for. After enjoying his exciting encounters with
sundry wild creatures through the day, he could read his
Shakspere or Tennyson or make his astronomical observa-
tions in the evening camp to the romantic accompaniment
of the roaring of the king of beasts.
G 2
UF THE ROVUMA. 85
Then, as for ethnological and social studies, there was
in the inhabited parts no small variety to interest the
inquirer. There were the ugly, low-grade, massively
tattooed Makonde, with their curious combination of
sexual morality with periodical ixmihe (native beer) de-
baucheries. There were the Maviti, the raiders and
bullies of the region, with their Zulu war customs and
destructive genius. There were the intelligent and in-
dustrious Wayao (to which tribe Chunia belonged), with
tlieir cleanly habits and keen trading instiiicts. Thei-e
CHIEF WITH PELELE.
were the Makua with their advanced ideas on the rights
of woman. There were the Mawia with their slender
well-made figures, the most exclusive tribe in East Africa.
And there were, finally,, the Matambwe, wild and ghastly
in appearance, from their practice of rubbing themselves
with wood ashes in place of washing with water. All
these were more or less contrasted, yet nearly all united
in the observance of one strange habit, the wearing of the
lifleVe — a round piece of wood about an inch and a half in
diameter inserted in the upper lip, which make it stick
86 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREE.
out like the bill of an Australian ornithorliynclius. This
extraordinary ornament, so characteristic of the Rovuma
region, is hif;hly prized.
" I found it quite impossible," he says, " to obtain more
than a single specimen, and that had not even been worn.
It was believed that if a jjf/e/e fell into my possession I
would certainly work some black magic on the seller and
produce dire mischief generally. Doubtless they are all
the more valued by the wives Ijecause they are invariably
the affectionate handiwork of their husbands. A Makonde
lady would no more think of disposing of her iJcleVe than
a European lady of her marriage ring. When a woman
dies, this much-prized adornment is always most religiously
preserved by her husband or near relatives; and when
they go to water the grave — with beer not tears — the
pcVere is likewise taken to show that her memory is still
faithfully cherished."
Joseph Thomson no doubt carried away from his four
months' tour in the liovuma region many pleasant
memories and much information which others would be
glad to hear. But what about the reckoning with his
august employer ? Truth to tell, it was not pleasant.
He was too simply straightforward and undiplomatic for
such a master. The Sultan was mightily disappointed,
and took childish ways of showing his feeling. He had
asked for coal and he had got shale ! Was he not ill-
used ? It afterwards transpired that the Sultan believed
he had really found coal, but for reasons of his own was
keeping back the truth. And so, under a sense of royal
disfavour and of suspicious surveillance and irksome
restriction, the offender was kept dangling aindessly
about Zanzibar, to the mortification of mind and body —
all of which he relates with rueful pleasantry in one of his
letters : —
" I am in despair, I feel that all the lightness of touch
Ur THE ROVUMA. 87
and tlie playful fancy, which I sometimes Hatter myself
belong to me in some slight degree, have fled into tlie
infinite azure of the past. ... I am at the present
moment a prey to that horrible scourge prickly heat,
making me feel as if needles were oozing out of every
pore of my corpus. Mosquitoes by the million buzz
about my ears, but sing no pleasant love songs to my
maddening brain. I am also a martyr to certain volcanic
eruptions vulgarly known as boils, which prevent me
from sitting, lying, walking, or standing with any degree
of comfort. Tlien the temperature is so high that at
midday I have not got out of my pyjaniahs, while to get
a breath of air I have continually to resort to the fan.
I need not enlarge the list liy referring to my acute
troubles of spirit, and telling how my mental and moral
equilibrium has been completely upset. . . . Tor the
last two months I have been kept a prisoner on parole,
and classed in the ranks of the unappreciated. My
report on the coal of the Eovuma has thrown the Sultan
into the sulks. lie won't even believe in me, and has
kept me all tliis time doing nothing, sending me a daily
hash of lies. ... I am determined to cut with him at
the first opportunity."
In view of experiences like these it is not surprising
that the New Year of 1882 saw him once more under the
paternal roof in Scotland. The ways of Eastern potentates
had not been to his mind ; for with all his look of un-
hurrying leisure, he was too much in earnest about his
life-work to be content to waste his time in enforced
idleness. As soon as he was satisfied, therefore, that there
was no prospect of his being able to continue with satis-
faction the work which he had undertaken, his resignation
was promptly sent in.
For the next three months after his return, he devoted
himself to study and general reading at home and in
Edinburgh, and to the cultivation of congenial acquain-
88 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFKICAN EXPLORER.
tancesliips. By way of literary exercise, he also prepared
two articles for Good Words.
As the days lengthened out, however, and the weather
became brighter, he was glad to entertain the idea of
a little continental trip. An intimate friend, who was
proceeding to Kreutznach, was anxious to enjoy his
fellowship on the way, and as this opened up the prospect
of visiting the fabled Ehine, he promptly made his
arrangements to go. That April holiday, with its memories
of sympathy in sight-seeing, of nmusing incident, and of
discourse, serious or fanciful, on all manner of subjects,
was wholly a joy to him.
After a day or two at Kreutznach, he continued his
course in a leisurely way by Heidelberg, Baden, and
Strasburg, to Paris, where he spent some time, and applied
himself in his own thorough-going fashion to seeing as
much of the place and the people as he could. The
impressions he formed were not favourable.
" Paris," he writes to his recent fellow-traveller at
Kreutznach, " with its good things and innumerable bad
things, is a place where there is no medium course. You
wander through grand churches and feel awed and spiritua-
lised, and you leave them only to stumble at the first step
over some example of the essentially voluptuous, atheistic,
and depraved character of the Parisians, a people whose
intensely demoniacal passions must ever and anon find
vent like the imprisoned fires of the earth in the volcano.
In Paris you are ever tossed from heaven to hell, or vice
versa ; you find the finest and most delicate taste associ-
ated with the vilest. The whole character of the people
is repugnant to me. I would rather live in Central
Africa yet than in Paris."
He returned from Paris in time to attend the funeral
of Darwin, and in the middle of May we find him back
in Edinburgh, a profoundly interested auditor of the
iiiemorable Piobertson Smith heresy case in the Free
UP THE EOVUMA. 89
Assembly — his sympathies being of course warmly on the
side of those who stood for liberty in the application of
scholarship to biblical questions.
The months of summer lie spent amid the ever interest-
ing scenes of his native Nithsdale, at one time poring
over such compacted stores of thought as Darwin's
' Origin of Species ' and ' Descent of Man ' ; at another
romancing and moralising in wood or pass or linn ; or yet
again exercising himself and keeping up his "form" in
])edestrian excursions that seemed to others phenomenal.
It was on one of the hottest days of that summer that he
walked from Gratelawbridge to the top of Criffel and back,
a distance of at least fifty- five miles (and in effect very
much more on account of the laborious effort needed in
the ascent of the hill), indulging cheerfully in a dance
after his return, as though he had been having a quiet day
with no particular exertion. In the exuljerance of his
health and animal spirits, he seemed in those days ready
for any exhibition of staying power.
In that year the meeting of the British Association was
fixed to take place at Southampton in the end of August.
As one of the men who had made his mark upon the
map of Africa, Joseph Thomson was urged by the president
of the geographical section to come and take part, a
request to which he very willingly acceded.
The subject of his paper was, " The Geological Evo-
lution of Lake Tanganyika." Beginning with a considera-
tion of the aboriginal conditions of the African continent
south of the Equator, he asked what was the testimony of
the rocks on the subject. He thought that that testimony
pointed to the existence at one time of an immense central
sea, cut off from tlie ocean by the elevation of the continent,
and almost coterminous in extent with the present drain-
age area of the Congo. An elevated ridge was then
upheaved along tlie eastern boundary of this sea. By and
by the centre of this ridge collapsed, originating the
trough of Lake Tanganyika, and subsequently the central
90 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
sea draining away to tlic M'est left Tanganyika isolated.
The speaker then proceeded to explain how the secondary
characters of the lake arose, and how its scenery was
moulded by the action of the sub-aerial denudation on
rocks of different resisting powers. After accounting for
the peculiar marine-like type of its shells, the origin of its
outlet, the Lukuga, and the freshening of the water of the
lake, he referred to the curious intermittency of the
outflow. This he explained by the probable fact that in
ordinary years rainfall and evaporation nearly balance
each other ; but sometimes there occurs a series of years
in which the evaporation exceeds the rainfall, thereby
lowering the level of the lake to a point beneath that of
its outlet. A more or less long period must then elapse
before it regains its former position, and the Lukuga
resumes its function.
The reading of this paper was the prelude to a little
stirring of the waters in another sense, which formed one
of the incidents of the meeting. The discussion turned
upon the last point in the paper, namely, the long-vexed
i[uestion of the nature of tlie Lukuga outlet. Cameron
held (piite a different theory, and was there ready, after
his own vigorous fashion, to do battle for it. The junior
explorer, however, was not to be lightly disposed of. He
had by his own observation disproved the other's theory,
and he stood to his guns w4th equanimity and self-
possession, showing that he had abundant reasons for
the faith which was in him. There was a large as-
semljlage of " armchair " geographers. In a matter like
this, however, there was, even for the greybeards of the
science, nothing for it but to leave the field to the two
experts and watch the interesting encounter.
xit the conclusion of the discussion the president
referred to the fact that Joseph Thomson was return-
ing to Africa to renew his explorations. He assured
the traveller of the sympathy and good wishes of
the geographers gathered there, in which sentiment
UP THE ROVUMA, 91
none joined more heartily than Lieutenant Cameron
himself.
Joseph Thomson's last public appearance, ere he set off'
on his new enterprise, was in Glasgow. There, on the
2nd of November, before a very large" audience, he in-
augurated the winter course of science lectures in St.
Andrew's Hall, his subject being " Leaves from my
African Sketch Book." And now all his thoughts were
focussed upon a task for which all his previous work
was but a preliminary and indispensable apprenticeship.
This new enter})rise, as he said in tlie closing words of
his lecture in Glasgow, was to be his Tel-el-Kebir.
92 JOSEni THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
CHAPTER VI.
TlirtOUGII MASAI-L.VND.
MoDEEX exploration in East Africa had its starting-point
at Mombasa. From the year 1844, when the missionary
Krapf (whom the kindly Sultan Seyed Said described in
his letter of recommendation as " the German good man
who wishes to convert the world to God ") settled in that
ancient and interesting place, there had been kept np for
well nigh forty years a persistent forthgoiiig of endeavour
towards the wresting of the secrets of the Dark Continent.
The efforts put forth, more especially in the latter half
of that time, had been most encouraging, and sometimes
even brilliant, in their results. Tract after tract had been
brought to light by the pioneers of geographical inquiry ;
and wonder after wonder had been unveiled to stimulate
men to fresh research.
In 1858 Speke and Burton had penetrated to Lake
Tanganyika ; and immediately afterwards Speke, travel-
ling alone, set eyes upon the great Victoria Nyanza.
In 1862 the same traveller discovered the sources of the
I<ile, having previously, in company with Grant, reached
the important country of Uganda, which has ever since
been a centre of more or less deep interest to Europeans.
Further to the south also Livingstone was by this time
beginning that wonderful series of exploratory journeys
which, in the course of the next ten years, were to bring
such vast regions of barbarism within the ken of the
civilised world,
THROUGH MASAI-LAND. 93
But while in this way light was being made to pene-
trate the inner recesses of Africa, there was one tract that
remained sternly and stubbornly closed to every approach
of inquiry ; and, curiously, that tract lay quite contiguous
to the original starting-point. With the exception of a
couple of hundred miles in from the coast line, tliere
was no district in the whole mysterious continent more
thoroughly a terra incognita than that which lay between
Mombasa and the shores of the Lake Victoria Xyanza.
Tbis was in no sense due to that impractical spirit
which sometimes makes men neglect things near at hand
for things far away. Nowhere had more persistent
attempts been made by explorers than just here. Prom
the days of Krapf's settlement at Mombasa, one after
another had tried to tear aside the veil of mystery which
hung so tantalisingly almost at the door of the Mission. —
From 1846 to 1851 Krapf, and his equally devoted
colleague Eebmann, pioneered earnestly, often enduring
extraordinary hardsliips. In 1817 Eebmann penetrated
to Teita, and in 1818 he discovered Kilimanjaro. In 1849
Krapf explored TJkambani almost at the cost of his life,
and in this journey he caught a far-off, shadowy glimpse
of Mount Kenia — this being the first time in which
European eyes had rested on that remarkable mountain.
But w^ith all their self-sacrificing efforts they had only been
able to reach the outskirts of the exclusive district.
The task essayed by these patient workers was taken
up ten years later by Baron von der Decken, who, in the
three journeys he made (1861-1865), added considerably
to men's knowledge of the country between the coast and
Kilimanjaro, but found, like his predecessors, that that
great mountain marked for him the limit of possible
attainment. A similar tale had to be told of the
missionaries Wakefield and New, and of the German
travellers Brenner, Hildebrandt, Denhardt, and Fischer,
who, from 1865 to 1882, strove in one direction or
another to break through the charmed circle. No district
94 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
of untrodden Africa had had a greater number of able and
courageous pioneers knocking at its gate for entrance, and
yet, after forty years of labour and sacrifice, there was
/ none concerning which geographers knew less.
The difficulty in the way of the pioneers lay not in tlie
physical features of the country but in the character of
the inhabitants. It was occupied by a powerful tribe of
arrogant, fierce, suspicious, and intractable savages, in
presence of whom no white man's life was safe, unless he
could surround himself with a protecting force such as
explorers are rarely able to command. Those haughty
and truculent warriors were a terror to all their neigh-
bours, and again and again strong heavily-armed trading
caravans had met with disaster, and even annihilation, in
attempting to pass through their lands. It almost seemed
as if the geographer, in view of the certain perils and
enormous risks of exploration in that dreaded region,
must content himself with such a knowledge of it as
might be obtained by vague rumours or native description
— although those rumours and descriptions were just of
the sort to whet curiosity, telling as they did of snow-
clad mountains and active volcanoes and new lakes and
wonderful caves.
But other eyes than those of the mere geographer were
turning to this region. When Gordon was (.Jovernor-
General of the Sudan, he perceived, with the instinct of a
practical genius, that the true route to the head waters of
the Nile lay in a line that passed from the Zanzibar coast
right through the territory of the terrible Masai ; and, if
he had not been checked by the peremptory orders of the
British Government, he would promptly have proceeded
to clear the way by force of arms.
Meanwhile the Church JMissionary Society were directing
their attention inquiringly to the same quarter. For the
thorough prosecution of their christianising enterprises
in the interior, it was becoming a matter of increasing
anxiety to find a healthy and direct route from the coast.
THROUGH MASAI-LAND. 95
Masai-land seemed to offer at least the possiljility of such
a route.
Thus, for once, the geographer, the politician, and the
missionary were united in their desire— if only the right
man could be found to realise it !
At this crisis the Eoyal Geographical Society seriously
took up the C[i) stion, and their thoughts at once turned
to Joseph Thomson. His brilliant success in his first
expedition, with its record of courage and tact and
patience, pointed him out as the man to face a forlorn
hope.
Hence, shortly after his return from the Eovuma trip,
there came to him the request to report on the practica-
bility of taking a caravan through the ]Masai country.
The idea was not new to him. He had often, in his
dreams of possible exploration, dwelt upon it, and hoped
that circumstances would permit him some day to work it
out. AVhen, therefore, his favourable report and plan of
operations were received by the Council, and he himself
was asked to undertake the venture, he responded witli a
pnnnpt and hearty acceptance. It was precisely the kind
of euiprise to chime in with his likings ; for, if it 'pre-
sented enormous difficulties, he had both experience and
the fulness of youthful strength with which to meet tliem,
and, to liis daring and chivalrous spirit, the manifest i)erils
of it were rather an attraction than otherwise. Besides,
the thought of succeeding, where failure seemed a fore-
gone conclusion, appealed to the romantic element in his
nature; moreover, if he could succeed without resorting
to force, where men like Stanley felt that a thousand
rifles were needed, would he not have scored a point in
favour of Christian and civilised methods ?
It was not with the light-heartedness of mere blind
impulse that he set aljout making his preparations, but
with the calm courage of one who has a full view of all
the dark possibilities of his mission. His letters at the
time show that he had his moments of pensive foreboding.
96 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
although there was always the hrave heart to rise ahoV6
them. Writing from London to the companion of his
Ehine trip, he says : —
" I have been sitting for the last hour steadily looking
into the glowing fire and, with feet extended a V Amcricainc,
watching in a pleasant reverie the old days troop past,
recalling tenderly the various special events which have
characterised my life thus far. On the eve of a great and
dangerous undertaking one's mind somehow tends to
become retrospective, and recalls with a sweet melancholy
the past, as if something delightful had gone, the like of
which would never return again, as if all behind were an
Eden and all in front a stern dreary world into which fate
had driven us forth. ... It is very wrong of you to
wish me so ill as to incapacitate me from going again to
Africa. Why, if I were to stop now I would simply be
forgotten and drop out of sight. . . . And yet, after all, I
hardly know myself what I am aiming at, or what will be
the upshot of it all. You predict for me ' a briglit future.'
If you mean by that that I shall be to some extent
famous, you may be right. If you mean that I shall liave
a happy and pleasant future, then I am afraid you are
mistaken. To me the future, when I think alaout it,
which I very seldom do, seems anything but pleasant.
My lot will always be that of a wanderer. It is my fate,
and towards it I involuntarily drift. But, there ! such
thoughts don't often come to me. Don't suppose me
steeped in melancholy or in depression ; or, if you do,
ascribe it to my liver. I look forward with eagerness and
expectation to my journey. I enjoy my life at present,
because I never allow myself to dwell upon the dangers."
In a letter to his " dearest father and mother," on the
eve of his departure, he writes : —
"The last night of my stay in Britain has come, and
Til HOUGH MASAI-LAND. 97
somewhat unexpectedly. I only learned on Monday that
I must go on Wednesday if I wanted to spend any time
at Cairo ; so I had to bundle everything together and
prepare for the last great step.
" I am a prey to very conflicting emotions. You will
understand my pleasure at feeling that soon my shouhler
will be at the wheel again. But you will also, on the
other hand, appreciate my feelings on seriously contemr
plating tlie fact that I am at last fairly launciied on an
enterprise the end of Avhich no man can see, however high
may be one's hopes or sanguine one's beliefs. . . . The
one great thing which renders me unhappy is the thought
of the pain and anxiety I am causing you. If I could but
imagine you looking forward as sanguinely and hopefully
to my return as I do myself, I would go forth with a great
burden off my mind. Untbrtunately, 1 can but imagine
nights rendered sleepless and days tilled with your fore-
bodings over my fancied sufferings. I know, however,
that you have brave hearts, and I beseech you to throw
off such S2)ectre3. Let your panacea for care be, Joe will
turn up ail right covered with renown ! Look forward
always to the time when I shall once more ap[)car in
' the auUl house,' the same old boy."
These somewhat grave notes, however honouraljle as a
revelation of his hlial tenderness, simply reflected his
mood as he waited and wearied for action. Once he was
fairly afloat (lie sailed on December 13th, 1882), he could
have said " Eichard's himself again," ready for any diver-
sion that miglit be going.
His one desire was to be on the field as soon as possible,
and, as the voyage on this occasion was a particularly
quiet one, he set himself to make it as short as possible
by reading. He tells a correspondent that he devoured
en route no less than eleven novels. The monotony of his
outward journey was pleasantly broken, however, by a
sojourn of ten days in Cairo — days of entire happiness
TI
98 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXrLORER.
and good fellowship. In a letter to his friend Anderson,
he says : —
" I wish I could work myself into the proper spirit to
describe to you all my impressions of Cairo and my
experiences. The climate is simply delicious at this time
of the year, making it a joy only to live. The last time I
was there I made it my duty to ' do ' everything about
tlie place ; this time I resolved to make it a pleasure, and
in this I have succeeded far beyond my expectations. . . .
I was introduced to all the notables of Cairo, from Alison
down to Baker Pasha, and from Dutferin down to the
minor Egyptian minister. I had also tlie honour of being
invited to a grand banquet given to General Stone, on his
leaving Cairo, by the Geographical Society of which he
was president. I was specially marked out by having my
health and success proposed, to which I had of course to
reply — the best of the joke being, however, that all the
speaking was in Trench, only the general sense of which
I was able to take in, and on that I had to frame my
answer in English. Fortunately I got through it all
right."
He arrived at Zanzibar on the 26th of January, 1883,
and, full of high iiopes and pleasurable anticipations, at
once set about making his arrangements for the journey.
At any time when he had an important affair on hand it
was not his way to " let the grass grow beneath his feet " ;
l)ut in this case he found an additional stimulus to the
hastening of his jjreparations in the fact that, shortly
before his arrival, the German explorer. Dr. Eischer, had
set out with the intention of covering the very route
which he had marked out for himself, and thus he was
" threatened with the misfortune of reaching a second-
liand goal by roads already pioneered." Fortunately,
Government had done everything to smooth his course,
and everybody, including even the Sultan (whom he had
expected to find still sulky at the memory of his shattered
THROUGH MASAI-LAND. 99
hopes of coal), was anxious to help. Everytliiug therefore
went well until he came to the engaging of the porters.
At this critical point, however, he had an experience
which might well have filled a less resolute man with
misgivings. In the first place, he had fallen upon evil
days in the matter of time — quite a number of important
caravans having left just shortly ])efore, taking with them
tlie pick of the available men. Then, among such
desirable porters as remained ojien for engagement, the
very name of a caravan for Masai-land was enough to
make every one fight shy of it. It was only when, in his
despair of getting a caravan, he offered to engage men at
higlier wages and ask no questions, that he could make
headway at all.
But then poured in upon him a flood of Zanzibar
villany, and out of this ruck of Oriental rascaldom he liad
perforce to make his selection. After doing his best he
could only look upon the result with a sense of shame,
fortunately, he had engaged as his headmen and caravan
assistants half-a-dozen iirst-rate men, including Muinyi
Sera, who had been with Stanley ; Makatubu, who had
twice already been in his own service as headman ; and
James Martin, a Maltese sailor, who could jabber in a
dozen languages and make himself handy in a hundred
ways. But as for the rank and file, never had such a
morally ragged, disreputable crew left Zanzibar on any
serious undertaking — not to speak of an undertaking;
beset with such surpassing difficulties as that upon which
Joseph Thomson was now setting forth.
As illustrating the young leader's tact in dealing witli
men, and the shrewd insight into character which stood
him in such good stead, a fact may be mentioned in this
connection which he related to an interviewer : —
"I tried," said he, "a rather hazardous experiment this
time, which was justified by its complete success. The
question arose what I should do with one of my men who
H 2
100 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFKICAN EXPLORER.
]iad ill the earlier expeditions been the ringleader in every
mischief. He was a magnificent worker when he liked — •
a great power in the cara\'an tor good or evil ; and, tliough
it had heen hitherto chiefiy for evil, 1 was lotli to part
with him. I did, instead, a risky thing — I made him one
of my head overseers. The result was that during the
whole of the expedition he worked as hard for me and
against the rebellious spirits as he had hitherto done in
the opposite direction. Throughout I have been fortunate
in my leading men, but perhaps none has served me more
faithfully than this one."
The caravan was in all a liundred and forty strong,
some eighty of the number carrying guns. A preliminary
trip of inquiry had been previously made, and everything
else was in readiness by the time the engagement of the
men was completed, "Within five weeks of his arrival
at Zanzibar the explorer had his company on board a
(Jovernment steam tug bound for Mombasa, and in tliree
days more everything was in order for the final start.
(Jn the 15th of March the journey, around which so
many dark possibilities gatliered, was begun in earnest,
and, leaving behind the picturesque palm groves of
Eabbai, the company filed away into the wilderness.
The leading of such a caravan as his through the two
hundred miles of desert which lay between the coast and
Kilimanjaro was in itself a task to try an explorer's
quality. This great tract is almost entirely uninhabited,
and seems the very ideal of a God-forsaken land. There
is not a pleasant feature to relieve its forbidding aspect.
Only here and there a scorched clump of bush and tangle,
or " a weird and ghastly assemblage of thorns and gnarled
trees " emphasises the monotony of sterile soil or glaring
red sand. Nowhere, except at the mountain oasis of
Teita, wdiich lies half wa}^, is there a drop of water to be
found, except where, perchance, the last rain may have
left traces of itself in small evil-smelling holes.
R G S MASAI EXPEDITION 1883 84
Thomso g R e Ik W7 h
TEIROUGH MASAI-LAND. 101
Through this forbidding land had to be forced a
company of men, debilitated with previous idleness or
debaucheries, ready for any treachery, fully intending
to desert if they could, and only deterred from doing so
by the guns being nightly stored and by the most blood-
thirsty orders being ostentatiously given to the guards.
Under the pitiless blazing sun the caravan pressed on day
after day. At one point they had to endure all the
horrors of unrelieved thirst for two days and a night,
when it seemed as if every man must sink on the burning
sands and die. But, by dint of tremendous exertions on
the part of the leader and his headmen, that nightmare
of travel gradually glided into the past, and the toil
and terror were exchanged for the delights of Taveta,
which was reached just a fortnight after leaving the
coast.
After what they had thus passed through, Taveta,
nestling in the shade of its tropical verdure, seemed to
tlie explorer " a veritable dream of Arcady."
"Its majestic trees sheltered under their luxuriant
foliage a wealth of graceful curving palm and tender
plant ; while from trunk and branch swung numberless
creepers, binding the forest giants in fantastic bonds.
Here was grateful shadow; there Hoods of sunshine. On
all sides were murmuring streams. Glimpses there were
of huts embowered in bush and creepers, of plots of
ground cultivated for the use of man, of banana groves
loaded with golden fruit. Cool, too, it was, for beside it
rose tlie majestic mass of Kilimanjaro, its summit capped
^\■ith eternal snows from Avhich come icy streams and
refreshing breezes to temper the heat of lower levels."
In this idyllic spot, amid a pleasant and hospitable
people, whose only bad point was their " excessive lack of
common morality," he rested his wearied men for a couple
of weeks.
This time did not hang heavily on the leader's hands.
102 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
Loads of beads liad to be strung, and cloths made up
to suit Masai ideas — a process which afforded abundant
iUustration of the scoundrelly propensities of his men.
Duties of this kind, however, were agreeably varied by
trips for the study of the botanical and geological features
of the district — a work so marvellously interesting that
he could with delight have spent a much longer time in
the prosecution of it, if there had been no sterner duty
pressing. It was on one of these trips that he got his
iirst view of Kilimanjaro and found it to be the perfect
realisation of " majestic grandeur and god-like repose."
This is how he describes it in one of his letters : —
" To the east is the dreary desert, and to the west — ah !
well, to the west you probably see nothing but a great
bank of clouds. But wait till the morning, just after the
sun has risen, and you will then see a sight. There !
You behold at one glance a mighty mountain mass rising
to a height of 19,000 feet, capped with a silver crown of
snow, glancing like burnished silver in the morning rays.
Majestic, snow-white, cumulus clouds roll grandly across
tlie face of the former great safety-valve of the region,
which times without number has throbbed and groaned
with the imprisoned heat of mother earth, till, Avith some
grand effort, it has relieved itself with showers of stones,
explosions of steam and rivers of molten rock. And now
the snow lies undisturbed on the once fiery summit, and
the clouds roll calmly over it. But, even as we look, the
cumulus gives place to the stratus. Ere we are aware the
mountain has vanished, and we see but the blank hazy
distance. And that is the great pillar which marks the
boundaries of the unknown and the untrodden — the great
sentinel placed to guard the mysterious land beyond."
The fortnight of rest swiftly glided away, and now came
the hour for entering upon the critical part of his great
venture. The near view of the reality was not calculated
to lighten his anxiety. If distance and the mere spirit of
THROU(iH MASAI-LAND. 103
hopefulness had cast any glamour of enchantiuent around
the enterprise, the inquiries diligently pursued at the
very threshold of the inhospitable land, rudely and
promptly dispelled it. He had had abundant evidence
of the wretched character of his following ; but now
he learned from experienced traders that, even though
his caravan had been of picked men instead of mere
" wastrels," it was ridiculously small. Then he had for
guides two men, Sadi and Muhinna, whom he knew to
hav'e the worst of characters, and whom he dared not
trust (though that fact had to be carefully concealed) ;
a state of mind only too fully justified by facts, for very
soon they did prove to be double-dyed traitors. All
things seemed combining to present his anticipations of
success in the light of a mere Quixotic dream. But it
was no faint heart that he bore, and, even when he' had
counted the cost to the full, he indulged no wavering
thought. The circumstances only braced him to sterner
resolution.
It M'as to the no small dismay of the men that the
marching orders were given ; for, the more tliey had
heard of the Masai, the more their fears had grown. Fain
would they have used their last chance of deserting ;
indeed, it was only by extraordinary precautions and
watchfulness that this danger was forestalled.
The route chosen was by the southern and western
slopes of Kilimanjaro, with the remarkable volcanic cone
of Mount Meru on the left. Almost at the very outset,
however, they encountered a provoking experience of
detention. A large war party of Masai was reported to
be immediately ahead, and, in turning aside to avoid this
supposed danger, they fell into the hands of the notorious
cliief, Mandara of Chaga. It was impossible to decline
his embarrassing and by no means disinterested hos-
pitality ; so the situation had to be accepted as philosophi-
cally as possible.
The days of enforced delay were turned to good purpose
104
JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
in further geological examination of the neighbourhood,
and in a botanical trip up the great mountain, which he
climbed to a height of nine thousand feet, returning witli
a wealth of interesting specimens and much scientific
information, the vahie of which subsecj^uent explorers
have warmly ncknowledired. Of his fieolocjical work at
MANDARA S WAREIORS.
Kilimanjaro, Dr. Hans Meyer, in his 'Across East African
Glaciers,' writes thus : —
" Starting from Moji, the kingdom of the notorious
thief Mandara, Thomson was unable to do more than
penetrate the forest region to a height of about 9000
feet ; but in an excursion to the district of Shirwa, and
THROUGH MASAI-LAND. 105
subsequently while pursuing his route towards Masai-land,
he covered much new ground and gathered materials for
a clear and comprehensive account of the particular origin
and main geological and geographical features of the
mighty volcanic mass. Thomson was the first to give us
any information regarding the northern aspect of the
mountain, which he describes as ' a solitude owing to its
extremely precipitous nature ' with ' no projecting plat-
forms and no streams,' and his sketch of its physical
history — of Mawenzi as the original seat of eruption, the
subsequent upheaval of Kibo during a late phase of
volcanic activity, and the formation of the numerous
parasitic cones and of the terrace of Chaga, as the final
manifestation of a gradually decaying volcanic energy —
was a yet more im[)ortant contribution to scientific know-
ledge."
Eeleased from Mandara at last, after an involuntary
parting with a quantity of his all too scanty goods, he
once more proceeded on his way. Yov several days tlie
caravan marched through a country rich with streams
and grassy glades and forest patches, teeming also witli
big game. On the ord of May they crossed the threshold^
of Masai-land.
In the meantime the reported party of Masai was
supposed to have passed, and thus there was behind the
caravan a terror that operated more effectually to prevent
desertion than any precaution the leader could devise.
To him this seemed only a cause for self-congratulation,
as now he would be able with a less distracted spirit tOj
turn to other pressing concerns.
His satisfaction, however, was short-lived. To his '
intense chagrin, he found that, after all, he had just hit
upon Dr. Fischer's route, and that that gentleman in his
dealing with the Masai had left him a most unwelcome^
inheritance of trouljles.
Presently he made his first acquaintance with the much
106 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN E^rLORER.
talked of warriors, in all their unctuous glory of red clay
and grease, and with their great shovel-headed spears.
Even in his opening experiences of them, he saw in their
overhearing swagger and fierce rapacity sufficient to prove
that they had not got their evil character for nothing ;
indeed, in the very first interview one man attempted to
stab him. Matters rapidly became ominous. Fischer's
party had been fighting, blood had been slied, the whole
country was in a state of dangerous excitement, and he
and his little party were evidently marked as the victims
of their revenge.
Clearly, in face of all the facts, it would he mere fool-
hardiness to push on further in this direction. A policy
of sensationalism might have its attractions, but here it
could only spell disaster. Eetreat must be the order of
the day, and some other door of entrance must be tried.
So, under the friendly veil of a dark and stormy night,
the men silently struck their tents, shouldered their loads,
and headed for Taveta, which they reached after five days
of steady travelling.
It was a bitter disappointment to the young explorer to
find his first attempt thus baffled. But he was not the
man to take a first defeat as other than a preparation
for ultimate victory, even though the odds seemed over-
whelming against him. He would succeed ; but in order
to compel success he must remedy some obvious defects.
]\lore goods and men must be got, and tliat meant a
journey to the coast.
Selecting ten of his best men, therefore, and camping
the rest at Taveta with due precautions against desertion,
he once more faced the trials of the wilderness. In this
journey lie surely, for speed, " l»roke the record " of all
known African travel. The distance of about two
hundred and thirty miles he covered in five and a half
marches, in one of which he and his men walked over
seventy miles, having been twenty-two hours on their
feet without food or water.
THKOUGH MASAl-LANt). 107
Having gathered with infinite difficulty a small caravan
of sixty-eight men, he retraced his steps in another series
of swift marches, and after a variety of adventures, in
one of which he narrowly escaped being carried off by a
iion at midnight, he re-entered Taveta to find all safe.
A vivid glimpse of his experiences in that second wilder-
ness journey, and of the frame of mind in which he was
contemplating the immediate future, is obtained in a
letter written on the 24th of June, and headed " Halfway
to Kilimanjaro." He says : —
"We started at 12 a.m. under a fiery sun, and pushed
on till sunset, when we stopped to rest without food or
water. In three hours we went on once more, the men
fast getting tired with their enormous burdens. • Ever
and anon would be heard the dull thud or 'sharper rattle
of loads thrown off the head — the only sounds which
broke the deep silence of the night.
'■' On throughout that glorious moonlight night we
pushed — or rather, I pushed the men— the most un-
pleasant task the white man is called to perform, as
circumstances make him feel for the time like a slave-
driver. First two men, then another man, deserted, and
added to the difficulties of our already overloaded caravan.
Morning at last came, to find us in despair, and water
still a great distance off. We entreated, reasoned, raged
at the men to make a spurt ; but it was no use. At
last, towards midday, seeing the task hopeless, I myself
pushed on with one or two choice spirits, and in about
three hours reached a mountain, at the to]3 of which
water was to be got. Towards night I rushed back with
the pure element, helping a considerable number, and
then carried a load into camp. One half the men, how-
ever, were not relieved till far into the night, and had to
camp in the wilderness. Each man carried from seventy
to ninety pounds, and in one march covered quite fifty
miles.
108 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREPu
" Tliere is a trial of endurance for you ! And now it
is that, after such a feat, I find myself writing this
letter.
" You will, long ere you get this, have heard of my
principal adventures ; how I have been amongst the
Masai, and had to flee back to Taveta, and from Taveta
had to return to the coast. How hitter that pill was,
and is, to me, you will understand from the fact tliat, Lut
for a slight accident, I might at this present moment
actually have been on the shores of Victoria Nyanza. It
was sufficient to crush any one. However, I am made of
indiarubljer, and thougli sat upon for a few days, I soon
recovered my wonted sanguine spirit. Within the next
three weeks I shall once more pit myself against tlie
Masai, and this time I shall make sure that it is success
or complete disaster. It won't be a question of retreat
for renewed effort, but ^•ictory or the collapse of tlie
expedition."
The safety of his camp at Taveta was better news tlian
lie had dared to hope for on his return. But the joy it
Ijrought was heightened l)y other tidings of a welcome
sort. A great trading caravan, bound for Masai-land,
liad arrived from Pangani. It seemed a special provi-
dence. If he could only, in their company, get into tlie
heart of the country, he had no fear of being able to shift
for himself. Before the day of his return from the coast
was finished he had managed to arrange terms with
Jumba Kimameta and the other traders ; and by the 17th
of July he was once more on the road for the goal of
his hopes.
This time the course taken was by the east and north
sides of Kilimanjaro, As they rounded the slopes of the
vast mountain a beautiful country opened out before
them. It was manifestly of surpassing fertility, but
quite uninhabited througli dread of the Masai. Day by
day they gradually rose in altitude, until at last they
TITIIOUGII MASAI-LAND.
109
readied a level of about oOOO feet. And so for a month
they journeyed on without hindrance ; but not without
lively experiences. Hardly a day passed without some
excitement or otlier. Now it was a rliinoeeros scattering
the caravan, now a fierce old buffalo Imll making havoc
iu tlie camp, now lions attacking tbe donkeys in the
night, now a jungle conflagration enveloping them in its
L\KE CHALA, KIUMANJAKO.
fiery embrace. As there were no inhabitants except in
the mountain fastnesses, there had to be much hunting for
the supply of food ; and as Joseph Thomson was no lover
of sport for its own sake, he was brought into more perils
from wild beasts than he cared for, though happily with
no hurt to himself.
When at last they did again come into touch with the
]\Iasai, it was to learn from a few old greyljeards the
110 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
pleasant news that the warriors of the district were away
on a distant expedition. Thus relieved, for the present
at least, from fear of trouble and extortion, they entered
upon the great Njiri Desert.
Tlie sights of the next few days were weird in the
extreme — for the party were passing through a land
blasted and barren ; yet through the (piivering heat-haze
everything was seen with a spectral glamour upon it.
Ever and anon the mirage played strange pranks with
the landscape, making game walk in mid-air, and filling
up the prospect with illusory lakes and ponds, while
north, south, and east, the mighty mountain masses,
seen afar through the pulsating sheen, dominated the
horizon.
The passage of the Njiri plain brought the explorer to
the base of Donyo (Mount) Erok, and to the beginning
of his real troubles ; for from this point he had to play
" a high chess game " w^ith the savages in all tlieir diabolic
genius for provocation, No single night dared they camp
without a formidable toma, or wall of thorns, being
erected around them. Surrounded by such a palisade,
with its bristling spikes, it would doubtless have been diffi-
cult for even the Masai to attack them successfully. But
tliere was a very real danger indeed in the possibility of
their being surprised on the march. The caravan, ham-
pered with heavy burdens, would certainly have been
at a terrible disadvantage, and an attack in such cir-
cumstances could hardly have failed to be serious in its
consecpiences. It was under the constant shadow of su(?h
a peril that the daily progress had to be made.
Every day brought some new distraction to the leader's
l)rain, or humiliation to his spirit. To the aggressive and
ferocious-looking warriors the white man was an object of
curiosity ; but that was no protection, for theirs was a
curiosity quite fearless and undisguisedly contemptuous.
It wanted a coolness, a self-control, a ready resource far
bevond common to ward off disaster. Each waking hour
THROUGH MASAI-LAND.
Ill
had to be spent in the presence of elements that might,
through an ill-considered ^yord or act, have developed
into a sudden catastrophe.
Ten marches through the unlovely, but densely in-
hal)ited district of Matumbato, and along the verge of the
great waterless plain of Dogilani, gave opportunities more
abundant than welcome of becoming acquainted with the
MASAI WOMEN.
character and haljits of the Masai. And a most interest-
ing subject of study they proved to be, although the
facts al)out them had to be acquired often by dolorous
experience.
Tliey are a people of (juite a distinct race ; brown in
colour (when through the greasy coating of red clay the
true liue is reached), and with sloping eyes. Tall also
112 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
they are, and of magnificent physical proportions, which
is not a little surprising in view of their universal and
liideous immorality. Up to thirty the men are warriors
and unmiirri(3(l, dwelling in separate kraals with the
young unmarried women, and leading a life of an un-
speakable sort, all the time partaking of al^sohitely
nothing but a diet of meat alternating with milk — the
necessary salts being obtained by the drinking of the
warm bhjod of animals. After thirty the men leave off
war, marry, and settle down to domestic life after a free
fashion, and to the keeping of the enormous herds of cattle
which constitute their wealth. The exigencies of pasturage
for these, and the necessity of varying the scene of the
young warriors' cattle-lifting raids, foster a nomadic habit.
Ihit ^\•llerever they go they bear themselves as lords of
creation, all other tril)es being simply looked upon as fit
sul)jects for their rapacity and cruelty. Such was the
n ition of swaggering, aristocratic thieves into the iiiidst
of which the expedition had come.
A sojourn of a fortnight on the plateau to the right of
the ]\Iasai ydain brought them into touch with the Wa-
Kikuyu. These they found to be rpiite as intractable and
treacherous as the Masai, and after a liv^ely time in which
the caravan was brought several times to the verge of
ruin, a return was made to the plain.
This plain of the Masai, though associated with un-
pleasant experiences, presented to the young geologist
features of very great interest. It is a curious meridional
trough dividing the coast water systems from those of the
great central lakes. On its right or east side frown the
escarpments of the Kapte and Lykipia plateaux, and on
its left those of Mau and Elgeyo — these great natural
walls rising to a height of from GOOO to 9000 feet above
sea level. Throughout its length this remarkable depres-
sion gives most striking evidence of its volcanic origin.
Thermal springs, and steaming rents, and lakes and cones
and craters, all tell their tale of igneous disturbance. One
TPIIlOUGir MASAI-LAND. 113
of the most remarkaLle of the many craters is that of
Donyo Longonot, which rises to a height of 3000 feet
above the surrounding country. The summit, where the
explorer reached it, was found to be a perfect circuhir cup,
two miles across and several thousands of feet deep, with
a rim so sharp that he actually " sat astride of it, with one
leg dangling into the abyss below and the other down tlie
steep face of the mountain."
Alternating with sensations like this the daily experience
of being harassed and plundered, he literally bored his
way past Lake Naivasha to El-Meteita. At Naivasha he
found himself once more upon Dr. Fischer's route. That
explorer had reached the lake l)efore him, only, however,
to give up in despair the attempt of pushing through the
country.
Finding himself thus, therefore, in sole possession of
the field, Joseph Thomson braced himself up for a still
more determined prosecution of his purpose. Now it was
that he resolved upon an enterprise which seemed to the
traders nothing less than mad in its daring. This was to
I'orni a picked company of thirty men (as he had done at
Tanganyika) and to visit Mount Kenia by a dash through
the Masai of Lykipia — the general body of the caravan
being allowed to 0,0 on with the traders to Lals'e Baring(x
It was clearly a case of taking his life in his liand ; but
he could not bs within eighty miles of that great mountain
around which hung so much both of interest and mystery
without at least a bold attempt to see it for himself.
He had scarcely well started on his audacious mission '
before he discovered that it was more perilous than even
he had dreamed of. All through the region to be traversed
a portentous pestilence was decimating the herds. And as
tlie savages saw their cattle dying by thousands on every
liand, they were not only in a most truculent mood, but
ready to blame the strange visitor for the lamentable /
visitation.
It was only by a stratagem that he could make headway
I
114 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORKR.
at all — he posing as a great hjbon or medicine man, who
had come to make spells for the healing of their cattle.
This role of thaumaturgist had its humorous aspects, l)ut
it was not without its dangers and drawbacks among a
people so unimpressible and fearless as the Masai — as for
instance when one of the savages nearly wrenched off the
MASAI WARRIORS.
explorer's nose, having got the impression, from a tiick
which he played with a couple of false teeth, that he was
made to come to pieces if need be.
Space does not permit us to recount the incidents of
that excursion over the lofty equatorial plateau, amid
scenery more suggestive of Europe than of tro|)ical Africa.
Suffice it to say that, after weeks of worry unspeakable,
THROUGH MASAI-LAKD. 115
and ot a physical and mental strain that would have
broken down all but an indomitable spirit, he stood at the
]jase of the heaven-kissing mountain, " entranced with its
awful beauty as the snow pinnacles caught the last rays
of the sun and shone with crystalline beauty."
On the way to Kenia he had made the interesting
discovery of a magnificent range of mountains running to
14,000 feet in height, which he named the Aberdare Eange,
after the president of the Eoyal Geographical Society.
This discovery formed an additional and much prized
re^'ard for his labours.
The object of this detour having been accomplished, his
one thought now was how to get back most quickly to
his men. His position among the Masai of Lykipia had
become absolutely intolerable, and he once more resolved
upon the expedient of a night flight. After eight marches
tlirough an uninhabited forest in the direction which, it
was supposed, would lead to the conjectural Lake Baringo,
he had the joy of emerging at the edge of the plateau to
survey in actual fact the lake's isle-besprinkled expanse
gleaming some thousands of feet below him.
An adventurous couple of days followed, in course of
which he got separated from his party and was thirty-six
hours without food ; but at last, to the great delight of the
caravan, he rejoined them at Njemps near the southern
shore of the lake. He had expected his trip to occujty
ten days. It had in fact extended to a whole month, and
tlie caravan had become seriously concerned about his
non-appearance.
The ipiiet and plenty of the camp at Njemps were like
a glimpse of Paradise, after the maddening trials and
incalculable hardships from which he had just escaped,
for not only had lie had to endure wearing anxiety on
account of the people, but for the whole time the sole food
wliich he and his men could procure was the diseased tiesh
of cattle which were sold to them only when at the point
of death. The Wa-Kwafi who were settled here were,
I 2
IIG JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREII.
like their kinsmen at Taveta, a kindly, peaceable, honest
people. Amid the exqnisitc scenery and the glorious
sense of freedom, therefore, he could give himself up to
pure rest and enjoyment for a season, and so prepare
himself for the second part of his great undertaking.
During tlie six months of his journeying from the coast
he had enjoyed almost uninterrupted good healtli ; conse-
quently it required only a week or two of the delicious
dolccfar nicntc which Njenips afforded to give him perfect
recruitment and re-invigoration.
The task of traversing the unknown region which lay
between Baringo and Victoria Nyanza was one to which
rumour attached even more risk and toil than tliat which
had cliaracterised their course hitherto. Certainly, disaster
had dogged the footsteps of the last three caravans which
had attempted it, and each had lost more men than he
proposed to take with him altogether. The only one of
his guides who had been through the district was so
terrihed at the idea of being taken, tliat he feigned extreme
illness in order to be left behind. These things did not
of course in the smallest degree sliakc the leader's purpose,
for he was now more convinced than ever that th^ere was
no liindrance incapable of being overcome by patience and
self-restraint.
Taking with him all the men who were physically fit —
about a hundred in numljer — he marched away from
Njemps on the 16tli of November. Scaling first the sharp
Kamasia range and then the precipices of the great
Elgeyo escarpment, he pressed westward for many days
at an altitude of from 7000 to 8000 feet, tlu'ougli an
uninviting country swarming with game. On the 28th of
the month he arrived at Kabaras in Kavirondo. This
region he found to be rich in good things, and populous
to an extent surpassing all his previous experience of
African lands.
After all that he iiad heard, he made his first advances
with some anxiety ; but his experience did not l)elie his
THROUGH MASAI-LAND. 119
faith in gentle methods, A rash or wilful man would
indeed instantly have made trouble for himself, for the
Wa-Kavirondo were evidently mercurial in temper, and
their experience of traders had made them suspicious of
this curious phenomenon, the white stranger. It only,
however, wanted a little tactful treatment at the outset
to make the nude savages his friends, and as his good
fame went ahead of him, lie had his way comparati\'ely
smoothed onward to the great lake.
The 10th of December saw the triumphant completion
of his outward journey ; for on that day he passed through
the gently sloping country that leads down to Nyanza's
reed-covered, marshy shores, and, after bathing in its
waters, watched the light from the westering sun stream
in effulgent splendour over its vast expanse.
He was at this point only forty-five miles from the
Nile, and would naturally have liked to look upon the
beginnings of that wondrous historic river; but from this
point the fates were unpropitious. He was, for almost
the first time in this chequered journey, struck down
with fever, and his goods were all used up. This of
course would not have stayed his progress. But, just at
the last moment, he learned that the King of Uganda,
objecting to tlie idea of the white man entering his
kingdom by a back door, had laid a trap for him. To
make light of a risk like this would have been an act of
perilous, if not fatal, foolhardiness on his part (as indeed
poor Hannington found afterwards to his cost). Joseph
Thomson, though fearless in what he deemed to be duty,
was no madcap and no spectacular adventurer. So, think-
ing it better to do some further useful exploration than to
languish in durance vile in the hands of a savage potentate,
he at once resolved to begin his return journey.
Before doing so, however, he made some careful obser-
vations which proved that the map of the north-east
portion of the lake required to be very considerably
paltered ; fo^: nearly the whole of U]:)per Kavirondo
120 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFIUCAN EXPLORER.
occupied a space -wliich was liitlierto supposed to be
covered with water.
In place of simply retracing his steps he resolved to
return by way of Mount Elgon, whose noble contour
loomed so loftily in the north. He was fortunate in
having so chosen, for there he discovered some profoundly
interesting remains of a former civilisation — enormous
caves which had been skilfully cut in an extremely hard
conglomerate rock, and which extended far into the heart
of the moimtain, forming shelters in which the modern
savage dwellers build their villages.
The next day after his departure from Elgon was the
last of 1882, and it seemed like marking also the close
of his career. As he was hunting to supply food for
his men, preparatory to entering upon a long stretch of
uninhabited country, he had shot — fatally as he thought
— a buffalo bull. In proceeding to secure his spoil, he
found the ferocious creature sufficiently alive to project
him skyward with its mighty horns, and, when he came
to his senses a few moments later, it was to behold the
avenger standing over him ready to complete its deadly
work. This without doubt it would have done had not
the opportune shots of his folloM'ers distracted the brute's
attention in the last moments of its fast-ebbing existence,
and given him the precious opportunity of dragging
himself away from his awful position. He was seriously
wounded and had lost an enormous quantity of blood, Init
in the evening he so far rallied as to be able, in a spirit of
grim pleasantry, to celebrate his deliverance in soup made
from the flesh of his bovine adversary.
Jjcginning 18S3 in this crippled condition, he had to be
carried on a stretcher across the wilderness. Three weeks
later he reached Njenips, and by that time he had so far
recovered as to be able to walk a little.
There remained yet one more explorihg excursion,
which he longed to make before resuming the perilous
coastward journey through the Masai country. As soon,
THROUGH MASAI-LAND. 121
therefore, as lie was fit for service, lie was off to examine
the region to the north of Lake Baringo. In this trip lie
gained much valuable knowledge, geographical and scien-
tific, besides having hunting successes to his heart's
content, and when he returned to his men he came laden
with spoil.
This marked the practical close of the mission of ex-
phjration for which he had been sent out. In the course
of his wanderings he had rescued from the realm of
mystery manifold secrets which the world of inquirers
had long been waiting to welcome. But at what a cost to
himself was the prize of knowledge obtained ! From its
very start his expedition had been one long adventure in
Mhicli every quality of his maniiood had been strained
to the utmost. He had lived every moment in the
presence of death. So constant were the perils that he
had come to look upon them as commonplace facts and to
walk among them with a strange sense of mirthfulness.
Indeed, even in the most trying situations he was all
alive to the ludicrous element, and the joyousness of his
nature would have its outlet. Keenly as his wits were
aware of the stern realities around him, he could have his
laugh and enjoy the point of a practical joke, even when
destruction was visibly jogging at his elbow. The whole
enterprise, in fact, seemed to him a grim game, in which
intellect and civilisation in his own single person were
pitted against the overwhelming odds of savagery and
Nature's forces, and he had a lively though quaint satis-
faction in getting the better of them in the contest.
But Nature had its revenges, too, and these of a terrible
sort. For long, illness was held at bay, and it seemed as
if there was to be a contrast to the experiences of his first
expedition. At last, however, hardships began to tell
upon his constitution, weakened as it was for the time by
the effects of his almost fatal misadventure. The dread
disease dysentery began to reveal its ominous symptoms.
From the time of his return from the north to Njemps, in
122 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
the middle of February, there ensued a three months'
struggle for life, through wliich nothing but a magnificent
constitution, and an unconquerable resolve not to die,
could have borne him. The story of that illness was a
record of unimaginaljle misery and of suffering heroically
endured.
He started resolutely on the homeward march, but by
the time he reached Naivasha further progress was im-
possible, and there for several days it seemed as if only a
fatal issue was to be looked for. Gradually, however, he
MASAI HUTS.
rallied, and hope smiled upon him once more. But as
the exigencies of the caravan required a removal to the
plateau- for food, a relapse immediately followed. There,
tlierefore, in the solitarydarkness of a native hut, on the
sleet-swept heights of Mianzini, with nothing to subsist
upon but clear soup made from the half-putrid meat of
diseased cattle, and with swarms of the murderous Masai
prowling malignantly around the camp who would only
too gladly have massacred the whole company, lie lay for
two long months, hovering on the verge of the eternf\l
world.
THROUGH MASAI-LAND. 123
But at the end of that dolorous time he had stili a
sufiicient spark of resohition left to insist that lie should
be carried coastwards. It was a last desperate expedient ;
life or death. But life had the mastery. As they
journeyed on, the wave of vitality began to pulsate more
strongly, and hope gradually brightened. His men, now
thoroughly regenerated and devotedly attached to their
leader, bore him heroically through the dangerous and
famine-stricken countries. Enduring hunger and thirst
and manifold perils, they pressed cheerfully on, week in
week out, over long and trying marches, until at last they
reached the outposts of civilisation. By this time it was
the beginning of June, and the stricken man could stand
on his feet.
After fifteen months of silence, the knight errant of
science emerged out of the unknown land, but it was as
the very ghost of his former self. Let those who saw him
at the beginning and again at the close of his journey tell
their impression.
" One day, in the spring of 1883," wrote Mrs. Wake-
field, the wife of the devoted missionary at Eabbai, " it
was our pleasure to receive as our guest for a few days
the noted young traveller, Mr. Joseph Thomson. Full of
life, energy, and hope, he was about to start on his
memorable jVlasai journey, and with intense interest did
we listen to his plans and watch the gathering of the
porters from the Mombasa district. ^Xe well knew how
dangerous was the mission on which he was entering',
while we admired the courage and enterprise wliich were
spurring him on. We were with him when he turned his
back upon the coast; we heard the cheers of the sailors
on the steam launch which had brought him from Zanzibar
as they uttered their fervent, ' God bless you, sir,' and
waved their kindly farewells. Our boat conveyed him up
the creek, and soon after we said, ' Good-bye,' adding our
124 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREE.
best wishes on behalf of a prosperous and happy issue for
his journey.
" We saw him again when compelled to return from
Taveta for more men and goods, and then there ensued
about fifteen months of silence, during which we often
wondered what had been the fate of the expedition and of
its gallant leader.
" At length one day a note came from our friend and
neighbour tlie church missionary at Eabbai, witli the glad
intelligence ' Thomson has returned,' and asking us to
send our boat to meet him, at the head of the creek. In
a sliort time we were grasping his hand. He had endured
and suffei'ed much, Init had mercifully been preserved and
brought back even from the gates of death. His form was
fearfully emaciated ; strength and spirit were well nigh
spent. But his w^orlv was done, and well done. All the
toils and dangers were behind liim, while before him lay
liome, rest, and well-earned laurels."
C 125 )
CHAPTER YII.
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN.
It was indeed a narrow escape that Joseph Thomson had
made. His iinconcpicrable will and magnificent constitu-
tion had enabled him to figlit death a oiitrancc, and to
reach the coast alive ; but it was manifest to any dis-
cerning eye that it would take months of care and
tendance to restore the sliattcred physical powers. It was
indeed a question whether he could ever be the same
man, or able with the same Ijuoyant clieerfulness to face
hardship and toil. He had now, however, returned to
scenes where rest and home comforts could be enjoyed,
and where there was no lack of tender ministries. Even
if there had been no sentiment of friendship to inspire the
impulse of kindness, the admiration which was aroused
by his chivalrous mission would have been sufficient to
secure for him every possible attention.
He did not linger at Mombasa an hour longer than was
necessary. One unpleasant duty, however, had to be
done, and that was to hand over to justice the traitorous
guides Muhinna and Sadi. These men had been necessary
to him in the circumstances, but their treacherous sj)irit
had been a continual source of danger to the expedition.
More than once they had brought it to the verge of ruin,
and the leader had to be ever on the watch to checkmate
their game. "With all their duplicity they themselves had
never suspected that they were fully understood, and they
were simply thunderstruck when they were brought face
]2G JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
to face with the evidence of their guilt. It woiihl have
been wrong not to have exposed them in the interest of
other possible leaders, though there was more than a
suspicion that their evil conduct had been originally
instigated by the Governor of Mombasa himself.
On re-entering Zanzibar he found that Dr. Kirk had
again returned to his post, and it was a quickening cordial
to receive from his former mentor and friend the cheering
welcome which he knew so well how to give. A shoi't
time of residence under the hospitable roof of the
consulate, and in the enjoyment of Dr. Kirk's skilful
advice, rapidly enabled him to pull together the faint
remaining traces of his youthful vigour, so far as to
permit him to contemplate the voyage home which he
was so eager to begin.
It was thought that in his prostrate condition tlic
lengthening of the voyage might be beneficial Curiously,
a means of securing this very opportunely presented
itself through the arrival of a courteous invitation from
the Sultan to accept a free passage in one of His High-
ness's steamers to Bombay. The possibility of thus
combining the pursuit of health with the prospect of
viewing, however cursorily, the scenes of our Eastern
empire, was a boon not to be refused. The invitation was
therefore gladly accepted, and for the third and last time
he turned his back upon Zanzibar, a city which in the
course of the past five years had been linked with memories
of such varied interest for him.
In leaving East Africa behind, little did he anticipate
that the very arena of his exploits during those years was
so soon to be the focal point of European interest, in the
diplomatic contendings of the western colonising nations
for a recognised footing on that section of the Dark
Continent. Still less did he dream that the outcome of
his last enterprise there was to mean nothing less than
the adding of a vast country to the British l^hnpire, and
that before a decade had passed the wilderness and the
l3Y ■mt NIGER TO TtlE WESTERN SUDAN. l27
virgin scenes of his daring wanderings would have the
prospect of echoing to the rush of the railway train and
the sliriek of the steam whistle. Yet so it was to be.
In his own purpose and aim he was but the pioneer of
scientific inquiry, but all unconsciously he was preparing
l)y his toils and sufferings for ministering to a nation's
earth-hunger, and for transforming the destiny of many
savage tribes.
The rest and the quickening influence of the long sea
voyage were undoubtedly beneficial to him, but the effects
of so dire an illness were not tp be lightly obliterated, and
^vhen, a month later, he arrived in London, it did not
require the eye of an expert to see that lie had been
wrestling with death. But it was already as an inspiration
of life to him to think of breathing the air of his native
hills and of basking in the sunny pleasures of home.
Steadily, if slowly, his strength returned, and soon with
characteristic buoyancy he was making light of his
ailments.
" You will have seen from the papers," he jocularly
writes on July 26tli to his friend Miss Noake, " that I
have returned a sad wreck — only a few planks, as it were,
holding together. I had indeed almost hoped that you
M'ould liave replied to my advertisement, 'Wanted a
nurse, to take care of a shattered constitution ; must
be amiable, have a low sweet voice with a soothing tone,
and be able to strike pleasing attitudes when administering
nauseous medicines. None who are not sympathetic need
apply.' You will be pleased to learn, however, that I
liave been heard to laucrh since I returned, and it is
generally believed that, if afforded an opportunity, I
might be able to sing 'Three Blue Bottles,' and dance
in old time fashion a Scotch reel. The truth is, there is
hardly anything wrong with me, as you will find for
yourself when you give us a visit."
But notwithstanding this optimistic account of himself,
128 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFIUOAN EXPLORER.
he was only too conscious that such an experience as
he had passed through meant so many years off his life.
When he permitted himself in quiet to think of tliis, it
would have been surprising if he had not had pensive
moments. It is from this point that we begin to detect
an occasional note of despondency in his correspondence
— a note which strikes one with touching suggestiveness
by its very contrast with the habitual brightness of his
letters. Writing to his schoolmate, Miss Bennett, about
this time, he says : —
" The thought seems to occur to me that my life will
be short. I picture myself in a narrow defile from wliich
there is no escape or back-turning, neither is there any
halt. Slowly and surely I move on to the mouth of that
defile, across which lies a gloomy chasm, into whicli fate
will precipitate me. When I think of such a thing, 1
am not unhappy, only pervaded by a touch of melancholy.
And yet sometimes my cogitations on this subject seem
to be so ridiculous that I laugh aloud, and turning to
the mirror, see neither a face and form that speak of tlio
sad hue of melancholy, nor the cadaverous countenance
of a man doomed to tlie grave ; and even now I can
picture you with a comical expression of amazement as
you read my mournful forebodings."
His panacea for these misgivings lay in hearty work,
for he liad ever faith in a good breeze of activity to
drive away the shadowing clouds of sadness. As soon,
therefore, as lie could settle to his desk, he applied him-
self with what energy he had to dash off the narrative
of his journey. The task, in itself, was most burdensome
to him ; but he had a powerful stimulus in the conscious-
ness that he had a tale of unique interest to tell, and
in the evidences which he had that the geographical
world was waiting impatiently to hear the novel revela-
tions which it was known he had to make ; for suf-
ficient information had leaked out to make it clear that
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 129
not a few theories of arm-chair geographers were about
to be upset.
The full record of the fruits of his wanderiugs had,
of course, to be reserved for the meetiug of the Eoyal
Geographical Society ; but to a gathering of the Glasgow
Dumfriesshire Society (who had come on an excursion to
Thornhill, and entertained him as their guest) he outlined
in his speech a sketch of what might be expected, which
was well fitted to deepen curiosity.
By the end of October his health was, to a great extent,
recovered, although, as he admitted to an interviewer
from the Pall Mall Gazette (who was sent down to Scot-
land to see him), he " still had an occasional twinge to
re'hiind him of the time v/hen he had to be carried, like so
much luggage, on an improvised litter."
The meeting of the Eoyal Geographical Society, for
receiving the account of his stewardship, was fixed for
the 3rd of November, and it proved cpiite a red-letter
occasion for him. His reception was more than flattering.
The large and brilliant audience which filled the theatre
of Burlington House waited upon his thrilling story, not
only with rapt attention, but with evident enthusiasm ;
and at the close, men like Hannington, Cameron, Galton,
and Eavenstein vied with each other in tributes of ad-
miration for the explorer, and in expounding the points
of novelty and of scientific value in the results of his
" wonderful journey." These compliments were fitly
crowned with the closing remarks of the President : —
*' Mr. Thomson," he said, " had proved, in his expedition
to the west side of Tanganyika, that he was admirably
fitted for encountering the tremendous dangers which it
was known he would meet with in the Masai country.
To have travelled among such a people under such diffi-
culties, and to have escaped without having recourse to
violence, argued that Mr. Thomson was a man of un-
daunted courage, of extraordinary resources, and that he
K
130 JOSEPH THOMSOK, AFRICAN EXPLORED.
possessed all the qualities necessary for African travel.
He wished to congratulate both Mr. Thomson and the
Society on the result of an expedition wliich had been
looked forward to with so much interest. No doubt
there were still dangers to be encountered in completing
the geography of Africa, but probably no expedition re-
mained to be made of equal interest to that which Mr.
Thomson had just described."
The spirit of these various speeches found a licarty
echo in the leading articles of the Press on the next day.
The extraordinary character of the narrative had, indeed,
manifestly created no small stir, and it was universally
admitted that Joseph Thomson had won for himself «n
unchallengeable place in the very front rank of African
pioneers.
" If for nothing else," said The Scotsman, " Mr. Josepli
Thomson deserves the warm thanks of his -countrymen
for bringing back to us for a time the African age of
romance. The story wliich the young Scotsman told last
night to the assembled savants of the Eoyal Geographical
Society was one that, at every paragraph, must have made
old geographers prick up their ears. . . . He may be
congratulated heartily on the magnificent record which
he was able to lay before the Eoyal Geographical Society ;
and his countrymen may be excused for congratulating
themselves that, like other noble workers in the same
field, lie belongs in an especial way to Scotland."
" The existence of Englishmen like Mr. Thomson,"
said another leading paper, " ought to reassure any who
are dejected by disquisitions on the decadence of the race.
For no reward but the thanks of a learned society, he
defied a year's perils of every conceivable description.
Amid them all he bore himself with the cheerfulness of
an Alpine tourist, and he relates them with no apparent
consciousness that any remarkable faculties were needed
to surmount them. . . . No explorer has more thoroughly
BY THE NIGER TO THE WEStlilRN StlDAJ^. ISl
deserved the triumphal reception, such as yesterday's in
the theatre of Burlington House, which is, for his rest-
less profession, what Westminster Abbey seemed to Lord
Nelson."
Experiences like this might well liave spoiled him, if
he had been a less strong and simple man. If lie liad
cared to let himself be "boomed" in society, he might
have made a prominent public figure, and had tiie usual
incense burned for him. But, with his unfailing modesty,
lie was the last to presume upon his fame, and when
the moment of release came, he was glad to get beyond
earshot of the chorus of praise, ami to be allowed in
quietness to think his own thoughts and renew his
fellowship with old friends.
He who has won distinction, however, has this penalty
to pay, that he is not allowed to be the master of his
own movements. Claims come upon him by virtue of
his record of work, which he is not at liberty to resist.
As a matter of fact, therefore, his hands were kept as
full of duties as they could well be. In the intervals of
his bookwriting he had, as he says, to be "tearing around,
everything by turns and nothing long — now a platform
orator, anon an after-dinner speaker, then a newspaper
letter writer, and next a lecturer — in fact, starring it
generally," with the consequence of having his " humble
self" discussed in a variety of newspaper articles, and
even having his "life" written after a fashion.
In December of that year (1884) the Scottish Geo-
graphical Society was inaugurated, and of course it
behoved him, as a Scotsman and an explorer, to be
present. Mr. Stanley, who was the inaugural lecturer,
was at that time vigorously playing his role of advertiser
of the commercial prospects of Africa, and especially of
the Congo ; and he naturally used the opportunity of his
various appearances to make glowing appeals to the
mercantile imagination.
K 2
132 JOSEPH THOMSON, Al^MCAK EXPLOllER.
The hard predoiuinance of the commercial note jarred
upon the younger explorer. He felt that to make the
interests of mere trade the only, or even the leading,
motive in African exploration was to degrade it, and to
depart toto ccelo from the spirit which had animated the
greatest and noblest pioneers. At the Ijanquet following
the inaugural address, he got the opportunity of relieving
his mind, and, wisely or unwisely, he used it in uttering a
half-serious, half-humorous protest : —
" I have to express," he said, " the melancholy feeling
I have for the last few days entertained, as I listened to
Mr. Stanley, on seeing how the iron heel of commerce
has entirely knocked romance out of African travel.
There were days when there was romance in African
travel, but the soul-less march of commerce has been
gradually trampling out that, and we must apparently
consider that the days of African romance are pretty well
gone. It is pitiful that such should be the case. . . .
We have come to look upon the palm-tree, not in regard
to its artistic effect, but upon the quantity of oil that it is
to produce. If this sort of thing is to go on, I should
prefer to go to the North Pole."
This speech would peihaps have been as well left
unuttered, seeing it was not taken in the playful spirit
in which it was spoken. But to this extent it is in-
teresting, tliat in its own way it reveals one of the
characteristic traits of Joseph Thomson as a pioneer and
explorer. His work was inspired all through with the
spirit of romance, because it was done purely for its own
sake and wholly for the love of it. To him exploring
was a vocation and an inqnraiion, not a profession. He
could not have done and dared what he did upon the
motive impulse of mere commercialism. And he could
not have Ijorne and i-hown patience with savage peoples
as he did, if he had penetrated into the dark places as the
BY THE XIGEK TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 133
mere representativ^e of J\[aiiuiion. The seeker after mere
profit is ever under temptation, in his haste, to make light
of men's rights, and even of their liv^es. He is apt to be-
come the apostle of force and self-will, and to carry these to
uttermost lengths rather than be turned, even for a time,
from his purpose. But the man who goes simply as the
inquirer after truth and the student of the problems
presented by man and Nature, can afford to be gentle
and just in presence of even ill-treatment and suffering.
He can afford to respect men's prejudices, and to live
down their suspicions. And in the end he loses nothing
for himself, and he leaves no hinitage of ill-will for those
who may come after him.
But while the fundamental motive of his exploration
was the love of knowledge, and the desire to extend the
boundaries of it, Joseph Thomson was, at the same time,
something more than the knight-errant of science. It
was in no impractical spirit that he had bored his way
through so many savage tribes, and traversed lands
hitherto closed to the ken of civilisation. He was keenly
alive to the questions wdiich the world at home would
be asking, as to the resources and possibilities of the
countries through wliich his wanderings had led him.
He never forgot that the great money-making multitude
concerned itself little with the settlement of geographical
and other scientific problems, as compared with the
finding of new means of adding to its gain. The ques-
tion with them was. Will it pay to exploit this or that
land ? and Joseph Thomson ever looked with a shrewd
eye upon the various elements that go to the answering of
that question.
Now there are obviously several things that naturally
predispose an explorer to give a good, rather than an
unfavourable, report of the lands he has visited. It is
pleasanter to the man himself, it is popular with the
public, and, in these days of rampant company-mongering,
it pays. A man needs both conscience and force of
134 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
character to be perfectly honest in his representation
of facts.
Joseph Thomson felt the strain to the full. But the
result of his observations in each of tlie three districts of
East Africa, had been unfavourable from the commercial
point of view, and he must needs speak out the truth as
it impressed itself npon him. It had been his fate to get
" the gilt taken off the gingerbread " of his own dreams
about Africa. Affected no doubt by the prevalent popular
notions of that land, he had gone out predisposed to find
it an El Dorado. But liard facts had disillusionised him.
He found, especially in the sphere of his first and second
explorations, the immediate resources of the country poor
in the extreme, tlie wants of the people excessively simple,
and the difficulties in the way of trade enormous. And
if Masai-land itself did not present cpiite so barren and
unproductive an aspect, there was tliere this enormous
drawback, that the entire region was in the hands of
a powerful people whose whole instincts led them fiercely
to oppose the trader and all his works. As he expressed
it to an interviewer from the Pall Mall Gazette : " You
cannot trade in that region nnless tlie Masai allow you,
and at present they would rather have your head than the
present of a linendraper's warehouse."
On the whole, his honest conviction was that, what-
ever development of commerce might emerge as " the long
result of time," it would certainly neither be good for
Africa itself, nor Avise or safe for the capitalist at home,
that money and lives should be poured recklessly into it,
with the expectation of an immediate return.
To these views he gave energetic expression in a lecture
which he delivered in connection with the Students'
Union, immediately after the Stanley banquet. Thus
Edinburgh had the somewhat bewildering experience of
two admitted African experts speaking from diametrically
opposite points of view, the one conjuring up glowing
visions, the other a herald of caution, Tliere can be no
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 135
doubt as to which testimony was the more popular and
acceptable. It is for history to say which has most
strictly justified itself by experience.
After his appearances at Edinburgh he lectured at
Greenock, Thornhill, Dumfries, and then after enjoying
tlie much-prized family gathering on New Year's day at
home, he returned to London to appear before the Society
of Arts.
Meantime, a new enterprise drifted into view on the
horizon of his life, and in the end of the year (1884) his
letters to his intimates began to throw out vague hints of
"an important diplomatic mission to a Central African
potentate." To one he writes (December 24th) in a
spirit of assumed melancholy : —
" The moment I would soar into the region of pleasant
phantasy, I am rudely pulled down liy my African
Frankenstein. Can you imagine me consigned in less
than six weeks to the steam bath of the Niger, there
putting on my autumn tints, as liver with lavish bile
paints the burnished gold which speaks eloquently of
jaundice and organic derangements ? Is it not infinitely
pitiful that the few planks saved from my last trip should
be laimched once more before the caulking and repairing
has lieen thoroughly accomplished ? Such is my fate — a
poor waif lost on the bosom of a turbulent ocean, and
tossed about by wind and wave ! To-morrow, possibly,
I shall be mocked by numerous wishes for a happy
Christmas. That is how the rude heel of stern reality
crushes out the little happiness I occasionally get —
will-o'-the-wisps only nuiking fun nf me and leaving me
at last in mire and darkness. . . . Imagine mc a coiner
of money and an African trader, dispensing cotton for
palm oil, measuring native damsels for suits of Sunday
clothes ! "
In the same gay manner, to his fellow-Dumfriesian
13G JOSEni TPIOMSOX, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
and faithful correspondent, Mr. Thomas McKie, he
writes : —
" You are probably aware by this time that my fate is
sealed, and that the fair (?) Spirit of Africa is standing
with heaving Ijosom and outstretched arms awaiting my
approach, with the vain phantasy of romance knocked out
of me and bearing instead a trophy of Manchester goods,
etc., symbolical of the blessings of commerce! Is not
this a change ? Will not H. M. Stanley be proud of
me ? . . . Would that I could tell you all about every-
thing, but, alas ! my lips are sealed. I myself get but a
hazy glimpse into futurity. Does it not sound tip-top
to speak about ' sealed orders ' ? "
Certainly in one aspect of it the character of this new
mission was such as to make him laugh at the topsy-
turveydom of fate. The explorer transformed into the
expansionist ; the declaimer against mere commercialism
turned into the agent of a trading company ! Was there
not room for his making a little fun at his own expense ?
But really the new engagement thus foreshadowed was
one that appealed to him as having in it vast possibilities
of interest. It would take him to classic scenes of African
exploration, to a region redolent of thrilling memories,
associated with the names of men like Park, Clapper ton,
Landers, Gallieni and Earth. It would enable him to see
for himself new and contrasted phases of African life,
and it would give him an exceptional opportunity of
witnessing the semi-barbaric splendours of powerful states
too far removed from the beaten paths of travel to impress
themselves much upon the consciousness of Europe.
The genesis of the expedition was as follows. The
company trading on the Niger as the National African
Company found its valuable interests to be imperilled.
It had been hoping, after its successful clieckmating of
French rivalry and the expenditure of much means and
effort, to settle down to the quiet development of its
BY THE ^'IGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 137
resources, when in 1884 a new danger arose. Germany,
waking up for the first time to the idea of colonial ex-
pansion, was casting her eyes upon this great waterway of
West Africa as a possible scene of operations. The fact
that the Niger was being exploited by a British company
made the scheme of operating there all the more attractive
to Germany, which at that time entertained feelings far
from friendly towards this country. It came to the
knowledge of the company just in the nick of time that a
political envoy — Herr Flegel — had been appointed by the
Germans to visit the Kings of Sokoto and Gandu and the
other chiefs who controlled the destinies of the vast
hinterland of the Niger. Instant action with the view of
foiling this move was necessary, if mischief was to be
averted ; and the question was, whom to send for the
securing of the desired treaties ? Joseph Thomson's
established reputation for energy and tact pointed him
out as the very man for such a task as was proposed.
Would he act as the Company's emissary ?
His acceptance of the appointment was prompt and
hearty, although it was only too clear that it involved fur
himself very grave risks with regard to health. He was
far from having thrown off the effects of the illness which
had so nearly carried him to a grave in Masai-land ; and
to enter such a deadly region as that of the Niger in
a condition of impaired vigour, certainly wanted strong
reasons to justify it. But when, in a manner, his
patriotism was appealed to, it was quite like the man that
he should chivalrously put all considerations of self in the
background. He had his own passing qualms of doubt
as to the wisdom of his going, but these he characteristic-
ally mentioned in his letters only in terms of seeming
gaiety : —
" My book," he writes, " is being finally touched up and
will be offered to an appreciative and eager public about
the first week of January. Is not that a very hopeful
138 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
coraniencemeiit to the year ? I shall have some comfort
in knowing that this interesting offering of my brain will
remain behind me to comfort a sorrowing world."
Meantime, as these words indicate, the preparation of
the narrative of his recent journey had been proceeding
apace. As he had been lelieved of all anxiety with
respect to literary revision and press correction, he had
the advantage of being able to dash ahead, currente calamo,
and to impart to his story all the vividness and sense of
onwardness which come from a rapid telling of it.
Just on the eve of his setting out for the Niger,
'Through Masai-land' was published. It was dedicated
to his father and mother, and bore on its title-page a
motto or foreword which his editor suggested as peculiarly
descriptive of its contents, and which has become indelibly
associated in the public mind with his entire life-record
as an explorer : " Chi va i^iano va sano ; chi va sano va
lontano" (He who goes gently goes safely; he who goes
safely goes far). The book was at once received with
every mark of approval and interest. Indeed its success
was assured even before publication, owing to the great
and widespread interest aroused by his paper at the
meeting of the Eoyal Geographical Society.
The perusal of the complete account of his journey only
served to deepen in the public mind a sense of the notable
character of the journey and of the value of its geo-
graphical and other results. At the same time the fore-
most representatives of the Press warmly praised the
literary (piality of the book.
"Mr. Thomson," said the Times, "has no need to
apologise for his want of practice with the pen. His
former narrative proved that he can tell his story quite as
well as he leads his expeditions. The present volume is
marked Ijy all the best qualities of its predecessors ; a
clear, swinging, vigorous style, rising into eloquence and
even poetry undcn' the stimulus of Nature's wonders, and
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 139
abounding throughout with a sense of humour or rather
rollicking fun, which does not even spare the author's
own peculiarities. ... It would be impossible to add to
the interest of the narrative itself."
Precisely similar, and equally hearty, was the verdict
from all other quarters. And so, amid a chorus of
approval, which could not but be pleasant to the young
explorer and author, he could set forth with fresh con-
fidence to win new triumphs as a leader.
It may be noted in passing that, almost simultaneously
with the publication of ' Through Masai-land,' came the
agreeable notification that the Iloyal Italian Geographical
Society had elected him as an honorary member. Mean-
time his name had appeared as one of the first quartette
of honorary members of the Royal Scottish Geographical
Society, the other three being the King of the Belgians,
Mr. Stanley, and Lord Aberdare.
Here also (although it is a slight anticipation of the sub-
sequent course of events) w^e may chronicle, in association
with tlie Masai-land journey, what he regarded as one of
the highest lionours of his life, namely the conferring upon
him in July 1885 of the Founder's Gold Medal of the Koyal
Geographical Society. The medal was given " in recogni-
tion of the great services he has rendered to geography by
carrying out with admirable zeal, promptitude and success
the two expeditions into East Central Africa with which
he was charged by the Society."
In the absence of the explorer in West Afri'^a, the
medal decreed to liim was received by Sir Kutherford
Alcock, K.C.B. The president, Lord Al»erdare, in an-
nouncing this to the meeting, said tliat " no more fitting
person could be found for such a purpose. Sir Rutherford
having been president of tlie Society at the time when
Mr. Thomson was engaged to serve in the first expedition,
and having taken a very strong personal interest in all its
operations," Tlie president in continuation said ; " The
140 JOSEni THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
successful completion of his second great African expedi-
tion must have prepared the Society for the selection of
Mr. Thomson for the honour of receiving the Founder's
Medal. His career as a geographical traveller has been
singularly rapid and remarkable." Lord Aberdare then
sketched briefly the story of the journeys the explorer had
made, in which, said he, " he proved himself a born leader
of men." His concluding words were these : —
" His account of the interesting and dangerous journey
through the Masai country to Kenia and the eastern
shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza must have been read by
the most of you, and I will venture to say that it not only
justified his choice by the Society as its leader but has
stamped him as one of the ablest travellers that ever
devoted himself to African exploration. The cheerfulness
W'ith which he endured hardships, delays, obstacles of
every sort, and even insults from his barbarous hosts ; the
patient skill with which he converted his half-hearted and
mutinous followers into a band of devoted and trustworthy
friends, his quiet tenacity of purpose, his dexterity in
dealing with warlike and aggressive tribes, and the accom-
plishment of this perilous journey without shedding a drop
of human blood — all these qualities and deeds point him
out as one in the foremost rank even of those distin-
guished travellers of many countries who have been
selected by the Society for their highest honour."
In accepting the medal for the absent explorer Sir
Eutherford Alcock said that Mr. Thomson had in liis first
journey added valuable fruits to geographical knowledge,
but that, in his most recent journey, he " had made one of
the most valuable contributions to the geography of the
interior of Africa that had been obtained in modern times.
He had well earned the highest honour that the Geo-
graphical Society could confer upon him. He was the
youngest of the list of medallists, but, taking into account
all the conditions and circumstances in wiijch he worked
EOYAL NIGER COMPANY S EXPEDITION 1885
r/iOTlwoii's Route shown lh\
BY THl: KiGEK TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 141
and triumphed, the Society must feel that they could not
have added to their number one who was more deserving
of the honour."
It was the beginning of February before he was able to
start for the Niger. He had hoped to be half way to his
new scene of operations by that time, but, unfortunately,
and much to the trial of liis own patience, his preparations
had been delayed by an attack of inflammation in the
lungs with an interlude of fever.
On the 2nd of the month he set sail from Liverpool in
the ss. Opoho, along with a gentleman named Hamilton,
who desired to have the privilege of being one of his
company. The voyage was entered upon amid somewhat
gloomy and depressing weather conditions, and in various
other respects it kept up the character of dreariness to the
end. As he was being borne into scenes and circum-
stances very different from those with which he had now
become familiar in East Africa, he found sufficient matter
of interest for a time in the study of his fellow-j^assengers
and in little trips of observation at the various landiug-
places. With the passengers, who were evidently a fair
representation of AVest African society, he soon found
himself standing on more agreeable terms than he had
thought possible. On the other hand, as they crept from
point to point on the West African coast, he found at
each new place something fresh to disillusionise him.
Here is the summing-up of his impressions : — ■
"My voyage along the coast and visits to all the
principal places have astonished me profoundly. I
looked forward with pleasure to a study of the influence
which a century of contact with civilisation has effected
in the barbarous triljes of the seaboard. The result has
been unspeakably disappointing. Leaving out of con-
sideration the towns of Sierra Leone and Lagos, where the
conditions have been abnormal, the tendency has been
everywhere in the line of deterioration. There is abso-
142 JOSEPH THOMSON, APPJCAN EXPLOilEil.
lutely not a single place where the native.s are left to their
own free will, in which there is the slightest evidence of a
desire for better things. The worst vices and diseases of
Europe have found a congenial soil, and the taste for
spirits has risen out of all proportion to their desire for
clothes — the criterion with many of growth in grace.
" The inaptitude of the natives for civilisation is no-
where shown more distinctly than among the Krii-boys,
a tribe which every one admits is the most docile, the
most manageable and most intelligent on the coast. To a
man the Krii-boys have spent years in contact with such
ameliorating influences as are to be found in those parts,
yet their tastes have risen no higher than a desire for gin,
tobacco, and gunpowder. These they get in return for a
few months' or a year's labour, to go back home and for
a few short days enjoy a fiendish holiday. I visited one
of their villages, and such a scene of squalor and misery
I have rarely seen. ... In these villages men, women
and children, witli scarcely a rag upon their persons,
follow you about beseeching you for a little gin, tobacco
or gunpowder. Eternally gin, tobacco, and gunpowder !
These are the sole wants aroused by a century of trade
and of contact with Europeans ! "
.The ravages of the gin traffic tluis forced upon liis
attention at every new trading centre on the coast, aroused
in him a feeling of shame and moral indignation. In
his heart he made a vow that, if he was spared to return
home, he would make his countrymen's ears tingle with
an exposure of the outrage thus perpetrated among the
native races in the name of civilisation. And he kept his
vow. So scathingly did he expose the hypocrisy which,
under the guise of introducing trade and other beneficent
influences, was really ruining the natives body and soul
through the diabolical traffic in strong drink, that the
public began to feel the national honour to be imperilled.
Certainly the recent awakening of the public conscience
l3Y Tiifi NIGER '10 THE WESTERN SUDAN. 143
on this subject dates from his outspoken utterances; and,
if healthful restrictions have been introduced in various
important quarters, it is in no small degree a fact to be
placed to the credit of his advocacy.
Tlie voyage turned out to be much more protracted
tlian he had been led to anticipate, and he began to be
restless as repeated dehiys consumed the time which was
so precious to him. But his impatience deepened into
anxiety when he found that through some misunder-
standing he was being carried past the mouth of the
Niger. The next landing-place was Old Calabar, and the
loss of the week, which must elapse before he could return
to Akassa, might mean the frustration of the object of his
expedition. He might, of course, have informed the
captain of the situation, but his mission was a profound
secret ; so there was nothing for it but to swallow his
annoyance as best he might, and keep up his role of a
traveller visiting the Nig^r for his own pleasure.
At last, on the 15th of March (three weeks behind the
anticipated time), Joseph Thomson and his companion
crossed the bar at Akassa. Happily the lengthened
voyage had one good effect; it enabled him in some
degree to obtain a much needed recruitment of his
physical health, and so to fit him for facing more hopefully
the hardships and trials which might be in store for him.
Akassa with its sweltering, moisture-laden, debilitating
atmosphere and its monotonous stretches of mangrove
swamp, the very home and hunting ground of fevers,
dysenteries and liver troubles, was not a place to linger
in, especially for one wdio had so recently come from
the very threshold of death. Three days sufficed to com-
plete all necessary preparations, and the fourth saw them
steaming out of the pestilential delta.
As they glided into the broad undivided stream, flowing
majestically between rapidly rising banks, and winding
in beautiful reaches between tropical forests of graceful
palms, towering silk-cotton trees and other indigenous
144 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFlllCAN EXPLORER.
arboreal growths, he began for the first time to realise
what a noble river the Niger is. Gradually, as one
proceeds upwards, the river widens out until it becomes
almost lake-like in its expanse. Coincidently the scenes
and movements of savage life become more noticeable
The stream is lively with canoes going and coming,
while tlie banks every here and there are dotted with
people bathing or drawing water or standing in animated
groups watching the explorer's noisy flotilla of steam
launches as they forge past with fussy clamour. Every-
thing carried with it the suggestion of peacefulness, and
woke in the traveller reflections as to the change which
has stolen over the spirit of the scene in the course of a
few years.
" It was along this stretch that the early battles of the
Niger trade were fought ; for here, as in the case of other
places on the coast, the natives strove hard to confine the
traders to the deadly coast line, and to keep the control
of the interior trade in their own hands. The consequence
was that to go up the Niger was to run the gauntlet of a
shower of bullets. Now any white man may pass single-
handed in a canoe from Akassa to Bussa, and feel himself
as safe as any boatman on the Thames."
So tliey steamed on day by day, amid gradually im-
proving natural conditions. The almost constant breeze
blowing down the river pleasantly tempered the torrid
heat, and they could enjoy dreamily watching the kaleido-
scopic effects of the scenery. Now some native village
with its barbarous inhabitants would attract the eye,
cosily ensconced in the shadow of the primeval forest ;
anon there would be the sense of sharp contrast, as in a
cleared space the whitewashed w^alls and corrugated iron
roofs of one of the Company's factories would claim atten-
tion, glaring against the dark background of tropical trees,
and the casks of palm oil would appear, ranged on the
bank waiting for shipment. The quieter parts had their
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 145
own points of interest. Here there would be tlie excite-
ment of taking pot shots at a diving hippopotamus ; there
a crocodile, basking by the river's brink like a stranded
log, would be the object of their marksmanship ; while
everywhere the waterfowl, in great numljers, would attract
the onlooker.
As they neared Lokoja, the scenery suddenly developed
into an Alpine character. The escarpment of the inner
plateau now begins to reveal itself in " a picturesque
series of peaked hills, table-topped mountains, and rugged
crags." Here, through a narrow adamantine gateway, the
Niger rushes in a swift current, and among the hidderi
rocks the navigation is anything but safe. These obstruc-
tions past, they presently steamed into " the lake-like
expanse fcrmed Ity the intermingling of the dark waters
of the Binue with the grey flood of the chief river."
Apart from the richness of the landscape, the sights that
met the eye were lively and suggestive of brightness.
'' Canoes cleave the water everywhere, carrying homeward
the weary toilers from the fields, while smoke curling up
in various directions tells of industrious inhabitants, who
are further indicated by picturesque villages on the slopes
and by the gleaming whitewashed houses of the pioneers
of Christianity and commerce."
At Lokoja the travellers had reached the outskirts of
the King of Gandu's sphere of influence, and now the
period of action had aii'ived.
An obvious difficulty met them at the very threshold.
Malike, the King of Nupe, although acknowledging the
Sultan of Gandu as his suzerain, was only too well aware
of the importance of keeping the Company from entering
into direct relations with his liege lord, and of retaining
for himself the profits of their trade. If he should scent
out the nature of the mission that was now afoot, ho
would, without doubt, do his best to thwart it. Means
must therefore be taken to outwit him, so that the
expedition might slip through his country liefore he
L
146 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
should be aware of their presence or object. In ph^ce
of delaying, therefore, to engage porters for the land
journey, which was to begin at Eabba, it was resolved
simply to make up the rank and file of the caravan by
labourers from the various factories of the Company that
remained yet to be passed, and to have everything ready
NVPE HUT AXD FAMILY GKOVP.
for an immediate march as soon as Eabba should be
reached.
If haste had not been of prime importance, the explorer
would have found joy in lingering at the various places
of call — Egga, Lafiaji, and Shunga — to study the aspects
of their wonderful commercial activity, and to learn
something by personal observation of the manufacturing
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 147
genius of the ISTupe people in cloth, brasswork, and other
articles of use and beauty. It was impossible not to be
impressed with the fact that, from Lokoja onwards, an
entirely new state of things prevailed. In the social
life, the activity, and the enterprise of the inhabitants,
everything was a complete contrast to what prevailed in
the Lower Niger. TTp to tliis point Paganism reigned,
but now Mohammedanism was the ruling influence ; and
the remainder of the journey bore the travellers through
lands where the zeal of Islam glowed at a white heat and
witli astonishing results.
On the 7th of xipril the expedition landed at Eabba.
To the surprise of the people and the confusion of the local
chief, the caravan stepped ashore complete, all ready
for the land journey to Sokoto. King Malike had been
thoroughly hoodwinked, and before the news of their
arrival in his country could be conveyed to him, they
hoped to be far beyond his reach.
The caravan consisted of a hundred and twenty men
chiefly from Elmina, Akra, and Brass. There were also
two educated native interpreters (an Arab and a Haussa),
and an agent of the Company, named Seago, who made
a very eflicient assistant to the leader. Ten horses
rounded off' the ecj^uipment. All preparations had been
made on the voyage up the river; hence, without an
hour's delay, the company were en route for their destina-
tion. Joseph Thomson was once more in his element,
buoyant with anticipations of stirring and novel ex-
periences ; and of these there were certainly abundance
in store for him in the course of the next few weeks.
The route chosen was very much like that taken by
Herr Flegel a few years previously, when, under British
pay, he had been (juietly and industriously prospecting
with an eye to German interests.
Scarcely had the travellers got out of sight of the gates
of Kabl)a when an ill-omened occurrence beclouded the
high spirits of the pirty. V>y a fdl fro:a liis horse
L 2
148 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFPJCAN EXPLOP.EE.
llaniilton broke Lis ]eg, and there was no alternative but
to send liim back to Eabba in charge of Seago.
At the first camping-place, Mokwa, while they waited
for Seago to rejoin them, they had some unpleasant sug-
gestions of the difficulties that might await them through
their having no king's messenger. It was only by a good
deal of tact and anxious diplomacy that they could per-
suade the authority of the place to sell them food at all ;
and clearly, if Malike could only get orders sent ahead
of them, he would almost of a certainty thwart the
expedition comjiletely.
That night a terrific tornado threw the camp into con-
fusion, and it was witli a considerably modified enthusiasm
that the caravan resumed the march. A day of very
trying experiences followed, in which the behaviour of
the porters roused serious misgivings in the leader's mind.
They, unlike the Swahili porters of Zanzibar, were en-
tirely unused to the work of a caravan, and in a few
hours were in despair. It was only with the utmost
difficulty that they and their loads were got into the next
camp, where the miseries of the previous night were
repeated in the occurrence of another furious storm.
[Matters came to a head in the course of the second day's
march, for then it became evident that the men had
mutinously resolved to compel a retreat. What followed
will best be described in the leader's own words : —
" For three weeks Mv. »Seago and I had to struggle
with our men for the mastery. They adopted every
imaginable course to annoy us. They assumed the most
insolent attitudes. They would travel only as they
pleased, which ineant going a hundred yards and resting
half an hour. They would have their cowries to buy
food, not as we were able to give them, but as they
pleased to desire them. They would not have this food
or that. It was no use to argue or explain ; they would
not listen, and our expostulations were received with
BY TIIR NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 149
jeers. They (lemaiuled our Ijiscuits or they would desert.
We refused, and oft' they marched to a man. Seago, in
attempting to turn them, had a loaded gun aimed at him.
To get them back we liad to give in, distributing half our
supply ; and we might as well have given all, for the
other half they afterwards plundered. They amused
themselves threatening to murder us, and one did actually
try to stab me, the others looking quietly on while I
struggled with the scoundrel. We dared not sleep with-
out our revolvers under our heads ; and thus for a time
we were made their laughing-stocks, and almost mastered.
But though we were two pitted against more than a
hundred, we were not to be frightened, and we only
looked the more dangerous with our loaded revolvers and
the more ready with our fists when other arguments were
of no avail. We were biding our time, which soon came.
Having once got them well into the country, we began to
turn the tables upon them, and presently we were al)le
to resume our self-respect, which had been sadly shaken.
The last spark of the mutiny was suppressed by their
being starved for three days into doing what they declared
they would not do. During that time we were hourly
surrounded by the men, who scowled at us and threatened
all sorts of bloody deeds. But we were determined this
time to regain the mastery, or throw up the game; so
we smiled at their scowls and threats as we toyed with
our loaded revolvers, and in the end the mutiny utterly
collapsed."
Thus, fighting for their purpose like men at bay, and
putting forth herculean exertions, they reached the town
of Kontokora on the 20th of April. There they fflt, at
last, that they could breathe freely, so far as fear of King
Malike was concerned.
Worries and excitements like those through which
they had passed, coupled with the pressing need of haste,
left little opportunity for a close study of the country and
150 JOSfeWl THOMSON, AFRiCAK f:XfLOllEll.
the peo])le. In Niipe they were on ground traversed by
Clapperton fifty years before. But it was only too
visible that a sad change had come over the scene in the
interval. The former teeming and busy population had
been decimated, and mere villages marked the site of
ruined cities, once centres of abounding commercial
activity. The armies of the masterful Fillani had some
years before swept over the land, and misery and desola-
tion had taken the place of pros])erity. The presence of
Joseph Thomson's expedition in that land was, it may be
hoped, the harbinger of a return to the golden past, for it
was in a sense the pledge of the extension to Nupe of the
advantage of British protection, under which the natural
energy of the people may soon work wonders of industrial
and commercial revival.
The arrival of the expedition at Kontokora was the
occasion of a demonstration of welcome which was to the
traveller both novel and startliug, while it had the added
interest of forming their first introduction to the remark-
able Fillani people. Here is his own description of the
event : —
" Bounding the hill near the town, our ears were
suddenly saluted by wild weird music — shrill pipes, more
sonorous trumpet blasts, and tom-toms, the whole con-
juring up in my mind a confused medley of memories,
reminiscences of Zanzibar, Egypt, Arabia. I looked
ahead, and was astonished to see an imposing band of
I'lUani cavaliers grouped near a tree. ... As we neared
them, they all at once set up a loud sliout, and, each one
lifting up his arm as if to launch a spear, they charged
wildly down upon us, apparently bent upon utterly
annihilating us. In a twinkling we were surrounded by
nearly fifty horsemen, all dashing about as if in the thick
of a terrible hand-to-hand fight. This was their mode of
saluting us. A more magnificently picturesque scene I
have never witnessed. The wild plunging of the horses,
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 151
decked off' with Oriental extravagance of trappings in
leather, cloth, and hrass ; their riders in indescribable
amplitude of dress — trousers, tob, and turban in great
folds which would in their arrangement have been both tlie
delight and the despair of the artist. Seeing some vener-
able old men sitting under the shade of a tree, we rightly
c:)ncluded that they wjre thj chief and his man, and so
HAUSSA UUT, NEAR BUSSA.
without stopping we continued towards them as fast as
tire equine turmoil would allow us. The pipes shrieked
still more shrilly, the great six-foot-long trumpets blared
out louder and deeper notes, and the tom-toms were more
vigorously beaten. At last we dismounted and approached
the two sitters. They proved to be the brother of the
King of Kontokora and his headman, and they gave us
a most ceremonious and liospitable greeting, witli no end
152 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFIHCAX EXPLOr.ER.
of coinpliments. This interesting episode over, we again
mounted our horses, and surrounded by our lively escort,
who kept up a mimic light, we proceeded to our quarters.
Tlie trumpets, pipes and drums preceded us, accompany-
ing a song of welcome chanted by an attendant. Crowds
lined the path, or crowned the walls of tlie town, and
thus, with an overwhelming amount of state and cere-
mony, we were conducted to the place which had been
prepared on hearing that we were coming. Shortly after,
heaps of food for man and beast enhanced the hospitable
nature of our welcome."
As the direct road to Sokoto was impracticable, tlie
expedition, on leaving Kontokora, struck W.N.W. through
the country of Yauri, reaching the Niger again about
twenty miles above the rapids of Bussa, famous in a
melancholy sense as the scene of Mungo Park's death.
Passing Ikung, they traversed the broad low valley, with
its inhabitants of Pagan Pillani — an extraordinary con-
trast to their conquering Mohammedan kinsmen — ami
following the Niger up to the mouth of the Gindi tribu-
tary, they wended their way up that affluent to the town
of Jega.
On this part of the journey the explorer was once more
carried to the very point of death. The hardshii)S and
anxieties which he had had to endure in liis partially re-
covered condition of health had brought back in full force
the dire enemy dysentery. It seemed as if the close of
his career had come at last. By vigorous measures, how-
ever, the alarming and dangerous malady was once more
fortunately stayed in its progress, and soon he was again
leading on towards his goal, although in a seriously
weakened condition.
It was at this time that the murderous assault which
has already been referred to was made upon him. En-
feebled as he had been by his terrible illness, he w^as in
no fit state to cope with the furious fellow, and as not one
BY TME NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 155
of the mutinous porters would lift a finger in defence of
their leader, it is only too probable that the struggle
would have issued tragically for him, had it not been for
the timely assistance of Seago.
At Jega a stay of only one day was made, as they
wished to avoid being mulcted by the Sultan of Gandu
before they had paid their visit to the still more important
sovereign, Umuru of Sokoto.
Tlieir road lay along the great trade route wliich
connects Timbuktu and the Western Sudan with Bornii
and the kingdoms of the Chad region. As they proceeded,
it was with a sense of wonderment at the contrast which
forced itself upon their notice. As compared with the
countries through which they had been hitherto journey-
ing, the Haussa States, with their sights and sounds and
throbbing rush of commercial life, burst upon them with
all the astonishing effect of a transformation scene. It
seemed as if they were no longer in Negroland, but had
been spirited away to some Moorish or Algerian scene.
The volume and variety of the traffic, too, were such as
the traveller had never imagined possible in such a remote
quarter of the African continent. " Native produce here
intermingled with articles of trade from Tripoli, jMorocco,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Lagos and Akassa, Timbuktu and
the Western Sudan sent their quota, as did Bornu in the
east, Adamwa and Nupe in tlie south, Yoruba, Dahomey,
and Ashantee in the west — all were represented in this
great artery of commerce." The travellers by the way
were no less interesting. There were the warlike
Mohammedan Fillani "portentously picturesque in their
voluminous garments," the vivacious and more simply
clothed Haussa, the fierce-looking, spear-armed Tuareg
Bedouins from the Sahara, witli other types mingling and
passing in bewildering variety. The country was densely
populated, and the frequent occurrence of large tree-
shaded towns and villages standing out like oases in the
midst of the landsca[)e, gave sure evidence of the fact.
156 JOSEPH TIIOMSUK, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
Inside these towns all was animation and energy. Every-
where there were the tokens of a busy industrial life,
differentiating itself into endless forms.
And these aspects of Sudanese commercial and industrial
life were not divorced from other and higher influences.
Perhaps the most astonishing of all the unexpected sights
in this land of the far interior was the evidence that
abounded on every hand of a profound religious zeal
pulsating through the entire life of the people. At every
turn there was something to remind the visitors from the
Western world that,. whatever decadence Islam might be
exhibiting elsewhere, here at least it was a living force
and a universally controlling influence.
On the 21st cf May the expedition made entry into
the city of Sokoto. This they had expected to be the
goal of their journey. They found, however, that Umuru
had removed his court to Wurnu, and thither they must
follow. During the brief stay in Sokoto one rather
exciting incident occurred. The explorer's zeal for photo-
graphing led him incautiously to set up his camera in the
market-place. Instantly the alarm was raised that some
witchcraft was being attempted, and, before he realised
what was happening, he found himself in the midst of a
wild, excited mob, in whose surging fury not only the
camera but his own person seemed likely to come to grief,
and from which he extricated liimself only with extreme
difficulty.
The next day brought them to tlie outskirts of Wurnu.
Their cominix havinc; been announced beforehand, a grand
demonstration of welcome had been intended for them, after
the manner of that which they had had at Kontokora,
They themselves, however, unwittingly disarranged the
programme, by appearing unexpectedly early at the gates.
So they entered quite without ceremony, although
not witliout demonstrations of popular interest — for they
^vere the first Europeans that had been seen there since
Larth, thirtv vears before, visited the city on his way to
BY THE NIGER TO 'J'llE WESTERN SUDAN. 157
TiniLuktu. Tlie reception in otlier respects however was
right royal, and augured well for the success of their
mission.
No time was lost in the preparation for coming to the
point of broaching the business of the expedition. A
•necessary and very important preliminary was to secure
I'll.I.ANI COUKTItUS.
the goodwill of the AVazir, the crown lawyer and general
adviser of the Sultan, and the real fountain of intluence in
the State of Sokoto. A visit of eti(|uette to this slirewd
personage, and the making up and sending of a present of
judicious value, occupied the afternoon on the day of their
p,rrival. It was soon apparent that the Wazir had been
158 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
fa\'oural)ly impressed, for the intimation came that the
Sultan liimself woukl receive them in audience next
morning.
As something depended upon an appeal to the eye of
the Court, they tried to make as brave a show as possible.
In due time they set off' for the palace — the leader
showing the way dressed in a fancy silk-and-wool shirt,
white drill trousers, military helmet with puggaree, and
canvas gaiters. Seago, similarly attired, followed with
the two interpreters and other attendants — all resplen-
dently got up according to native ideas of magnificence.
Dismounting in style at the gate of the palace, and
threading their M-ay through a labyrinth of courts, filled
with a crowd of retainers truly Oriental in their hetero-
geneous variety, they at last stood in the presence of his
dusky Majesty, who was seated cross-legged on a raised
dais in a large softly-lighted hall. They saluted him by
simply taking off' their helmets and making a bow, the
interpreters prostrating themselves in native fashion.
After a long preliminary palaver of etiquette between the
Sultan and the interpreters, Joseph Thomson made his
speech. He explained that he had been sent all the way
from England to convey the salutations and compliments
of certain Englisli people, to thank the Sultan for the
goodwill shown to their traders, and to express their wish
to conclude a treaty with him. Such a treaty would be
for the mutual advantage of both parties : for while the
extension of trade would benefit those whom he repre-
sented, it would no less tend to enlarge and consolidate
his own influence as a sovereign. He concluded by
showing how rapidly some of the river kings, like Malike
of Nupe, had risen into power and wealth by their
connection with the English traders.
Umuru was obviously pleased, and expressed his
approval by punctuating the speaker's words (as inter-
preted) with a curious clucking sound of the tongue. He
replied in a com])limeutary fashion, and seemed specially
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 159
gratified at the idea that the envoy had come all the way
from England to do him so much honour.
It was considered more judicious to refer to the
details of the proposed treaty at a subsequent stage,
and with due ceremony the party retired to prepare
the Sultan's present, feeling sure that the grandeur of
that present would be a very useful preliminary to the
discussion of terms. It was intended to take the present
next day, but meanwhile the Sultan had got his curiosity
aroused by reports of what the Wazir had received, and
he was too eager to endure the delay. Accordingly, in
response to a message, the evening saw them as visitors
again at the palace. This time they were received with
less of formal etiquette, but with notaljle cordiality, in what
appeared to be the royal treasury. What took place
is thus narrated by the envoy himself: —
" The place where we were being too small to exhibit
the articles, a large mat was spread in the court in which
to lay them. As this was being done, Umuru tried to
put on an appearance of indifference becoming a great
sultan and one 'accustomed to that sort of thing;' but
now and then, as he got a glimpse of some magnificent
object or other, he became fidgety and showed signs of
allowing the royal dignity to give way. Finally he
succumbed to the fascinations of the various objects, and
proposed to go out. There, exposed in the yard, lay a
collection such as had never greeted the eyes of any
Sudan sultan before. There were gorgeous silks, satins,
and velvets, beautiful embroideries, rugs, silver vessels,
revolvers — everything of the most handsome and ex-
pensive character. If the Fillani were a people given
to dancing, doubtless His Majesty would have executed
a pas scul. As it was, he had to express his delight less
demonstratively. We had special pleasure in showing off
a magnificent silk umbrella, of large dimensions, and
loaded with gold fringes. It had been intended by a
IGO JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREE.
French company for a king on the Niger, and, need I
say, it was composed of red, white, and blue, with a
charming bow of the same colours on the handle ; all,
no doubt, intended to express in the most insidious
manner not only how pleasing to the eye but how
refreshing to the body it is to rest under the shade of
a tricoloured umbrella. But the irony of fate has willed
that once more 'perfidious Albion' will reap where the
French wished to sow. On some hot journey Umuru
will be gratefully blessing the British nation, unwitting
that he is indebted to the ingenuity and the prudential
efforts of their great rivals. We had every reason to feel
encouraged by the effect of our display. The Sultan
was quite overwhelmed with surprise at the unexpected
magnificence of the present. AVe, of course, improved the
occasion, and hinted that these were but samples of the
thousands of articles which the English made, and which
could be crot through intercourse with them."
The result of the subsequent negotiations was all that
could be desired, and better by far than had been antici-
pated. In consideration of a yearly subsidy, Umuru
agreed to hand over irrevocably to the National African
Company all his rights to the banks of the river Binue
and its tributaries to a breadth of tliirty miles on either
hand ; to give them an absolute monoj)oly of all trading
and mineral rights throughout his entire dominions, and
to make the Company the sole medium in his intercourse
with foreigners.
After a ten days' rest at Wurnu, during which he was
treated with the most lavish of royal hospitality, Josepli
Thomson passed on to visit the Sultan of Gandu, whose
rule extends over the main river from Lokoja to near
Timbuktu. From this prince he had an equally favour-
able reception, and obtained the same rights and pri^'ileges
with respect to his empire which had been secured in
Sokoto. Thus the Company was put in absolute com-
BY THE NIGER TO THE WESTERN SUDAN. 161
mand of the whole middle area of the Niger and the
whole of the basin of the Binue.
It goes without saying that the whole transaction
was on both sides an intelligent and business-like affair ;
for the educated Mohammedans who granted the con-
cessions were as wide-awake in guarding their own
interests as the envoy was above all capability of trickery,
in dealing with them. The treaties were written out in
Arabic and carefully studied by the sultans and their
counsellors before being signed and stamped with the
royal seals.
These treaties in practical effect meant nothing less
than the annexation of a vast and valuable territory to
the British Empire. " The explorer could now set his face
homewards with a justifiable pride in the fact that he had
not only opened a free way to the very heart of the
Western Sudan, along which the European visitor would
henceforth be received with a hearty welcome in place of
suspicion, but had brought within the reach of British
enterprise an area of the greatest commercial promise.
Doubtless the Germans were profoundly chagrined at
being so thoroughly out-generalled ; but even they had
to admit that the conduct of this embassy was as far
beyond reproach as its fruits were beyond recall.
Joseph Thomson's mission having thus been satis-
factorily crowned, there was every reason against delaying
his return. He had, indeed, not a few significant re-
minders of the fact that, by the self-spending involved
in such a mission in his then state of health, he was
seriously mortgaging his vital resources.
By the 7th of July the expedition had returned to
Babba. The most noteworthy fact in his homeward
journey thus far was that at the Gindi Eiver he had the
great misfortune to be robl)ed of his diaries and notebook.'i.
The loss was an irreparable and most regrettable one,
for with the disappearance of his papers many facts of
interest and value luid slipped into oblivion.
M
1G2 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXTLORER.
We may fitly close this chapter with a quotation from
a letter written at Abutshi to Miss Xoake : —
" Here I am, and well down towards the mouth of ' the
white man's grave' (the Niger) on my way home to
re-organise my shattered internal machinery, before
returning again to bask in the smiles of the fair spirit
which rules over the heart of Africa. At the expense
of a few pounds and a demoralised stomach, I bring back
to the English nation a present of incalculable value — but
let me not anticipate these wondeiful matters, but leave
enshrouded for a while my mission to the great native
empires of the "Western Sudan. Enough that I have not
disgraced my previous record, and tliat, successful beyond
the most sanguine expectations, I return to civilised life.
"As I shall be in England as soon as this letter, I need
not enter into any history of my movements. . .'Twere
needless to tell how I traversed five hundred miles on
horseback, and exactly three months from my leaving
England reached the famous city of Sokoto, and there
bloomed forth in all the glories of a diplomatist. 'Tis
true, I might interest you here were I to tell you how I
'starred it' in gi'eat state and won immense applause
from the native mob. If you had seen me on those
occasions, you Avould have had to ask yourself if this
was the same person you had seen brandishing the mallet
and the chisel in a Scotch quarry, clothed in moleskin.
" Well, we had a jolly and romantic time of it
there. Time was of too much consequence to allow us
to stop longer than ten days ; but in that space we
negotiated certain treaties which may yet be famous.
From Sokoto we hurried off to Gandu. There we com-
pleted our work, and another month brought us back to
the Niger, down which we have come to this place in
canoes. In a few days we shall be at Akassa, and then
I'm off to England once more — though but for that de-
moralised stomach I \\ould have staved somewhat longer."
( 163 )
CHAPTER Ylir.
LiTEi;\Tur:K, leisure, and gonti:oversy.
In the beginning of September, 1885, he was once more
at anchor in the have^i of home. He sorely needed a
period of rest and mother-nursing to rehabihtate his
exhausted powers, and under the roof of " the aukl house "
he was glad to seek recruitment from his weariness.
Native air and home ministries, with the joyous revisiting
of familiar scenes, could do much for him; but, young
though he was in years, he found that the recovery of his
physical and nervous tone was to be a slower process than
he had anticipated. He had resolutely defied his weak-
ness ; he had spent himself unreservedly ; and he was
now being reminded that Xature must have its reprisals.
It was under the only too painful consciousness of such
reprisals tliat he wrote at this time to one of his corres-
pondents : —
" Alas, I find my inner man each year becoming more
sensitive to climatic influences. Ah, well ! I must console
myself with the quotation of a saying which peeped forth
in melancholy manner from the last letter I got from you
before leaving England — 'Whom the gods love die young.'"
For the first six weeks after his return he was really
very ill ; although, with his habitual tender thought for
his mother, he tried resolutely to dissemble his condition
and to make light of liis painful symptoms.
M 2
164 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
Towards the end of October, however, he began to feel
that he had " turned tlie corner," as he said, and that he
was making for convalescence. A short sojourn among
friends in England — at Manchester, London, Brighton —
greatly accelerated the revival of his strength, and by
the time that November had run its course he was back
again in Scotland, " quite a new man," as he somewhat
sanguinely expressed it, and with his mind full of plans
for work.
His first public appearance after the Niger trip was at
Edinburgh, in connection with the opening of the second
session of the Scottish Geographical Society. Lieutenant
A. W. Greely was the lecturer on the occasion, and the
subject, his explorations in Greenland. The honourable
duty of moving the vote of thanks was entrusted to
Joseph Thomson as a brother explorer. Needless to say it
was performed with cordiality. It was, indeed, as he said,
a very great delight to him, coming fresh from the tropics,
to see and hear one who had made his name famous in
the pages of Arctic research, and whose story of discovery
had thrilled the heart of Europe and America with an
emotion such as had been rarely evoked in the liistory of
scientific progress. Those wdio knew the mover of the
vote of thanks would recognise a distinctly personal
and characteristic note in his expression of admiration at
the lecturer's exploits : —
" No one listening to such a story of suffering and
daring as that told by Lieutenant Greely would think of
asking, what is the use of it all ? But if such there be,
I would simply reply to him in the words of the American
poet : —
' WlieneVr a noble deed is done,
Our hearts with glad surprise
To higher levels rise.'
" We may be a nation of shopkeepers, but we have a
warm lieart to everything which keeps burning brightly
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AND CONTROVERSY. 165
the sacred lamp of that chivahy, in which there is as
much daring, more self-denial, and a more tender regard
for the weak and the oppressed, than was ever practised
by the flower of ancient kniglithood."
Meantime he had been requested, as an honorary
member of the Society, to prepare a paper to be read
before its A^arious branches, at Glasgow, Edinburgh, and
Dundee. He chose ibr his subject, " East Central Africa
and its Commercial Outlook." He had a threefold reason
for reverting to this subject. First, he felt that at least
two of the cities concerned were peculiarly interested in
commercial questions. Then lie saw that there was at the
time a mania of speculation in all tlnngs African, which
was likely in more than one respect to be hurtful to the
best interests of Africa, as well as fruitful of disappoint-
ment to many at home. Further, his experiences in his
recent expedition up the Niger had only tended to crystal-
lise and confirm the views about East Africa which he had
already formed and expressed. In the circumstances he
felt specially called upon to throw upon the situation so
far as in him lay the sobering light of truth.
In his paper he pointed out, as the conclusions from his
own wide and varied experience, that, whatever prospects
of commerce there might be on the "West of the Conti-
nent, in the Niger and Sudan district, with its grand river
waterway and comparatively civilised populations of keen
traders, or in the Congo region, of which the possibilities
had been so eloquently advertised, certainly East Central
Africa, as an arena for trading enterprise, presented very
few hopeful features indeed. To give coidcur de rose
descriptions of it as capable of yielding a return for
European capital or eflbrt would be to wrong the public.
The land could only in a very few places be described as
fertile, and in these tlie climate was for the most part
pestilential. Then the questions of transport and of
labour presented otlier vi^iy grave inipe<liments to the
166 JOSEPH THOMSON, AB^RICAN EXPLORER.
exploitation of even the meagre possibilities of the country.
On the whole, East Central Africa had practically very
little to offer to those who were seeking for new sources
of supply.
But what about this region as a market for European
goods, and a sphere for the exercise of civilising iu-
liuences ? Well (his reply was), even here there was
little hopeful to be said. The population were barbarous
in the extreme and sparse everywhere. They wanted
little of all that Europe could offer them, and they needed
still less of the company and example and influence of the
average European trader, as these in only too many
instances tended more to demoralisation than to civilisa-
tion. Even to the missionary the field was one of the
hardest and most unpromising to cultivate. Among
races so degraded and of sucli low development, even
the most devoted pioneer of Christianity must for
long find the work depressing and the returns most
meagre.
Such was the gist of his views on East Africa as a
sphere for tlie merchant and philanthropist. It was not
delightful for him to enunciate these any more than
it was cheering to many of his hearers to receive them.
But it seemed to him that, in the excited state of the
]iublic mind in relation to Africa, it was at once the most
kind and the most honourable thing to speak out the
facts as he knew them ; and if his utterances were in
some points just a little more staccato than they needed
to be, that may be explained by the fact that he knew
beforehand he would be attacked by interested parties,
and he was therefore consciously speaking somewhat in
the spirit of controversy. He would have no man misled
through false impressions derived from him.
His paper was read at Glasgow on the 8th of January
(1886), at Edinburgh on the 11th, and at Dundee on
the 12th. Naturally, his relentless crusade against a
popular delusion attracted a good deal of attention. The
LlTiiRATLJJiE, LEISUIIE, AND CONTROVERSY. 107
criticism of the press was friendly, and even where dis-
appointment was expressed at the tale he had to unfold,
there was frank appreciation of his courage in setting
forth unpopular trutlis. He was glad, however, to turn
his face southwards on a more pleasing mission.
At Annan on the 15th, and at Manchester on the 27tli,
before the Geographical Society, he lectured on his trip to
Sokoto. In recounting tlie stirring details of his dash
into the heart of the Western Sudan, he felt once more
that he had a congenial task in hand ; and as in his own
modest yet bright and vivid way he told his romantic
story, there could be no doubt as to the enthusiasm of the
listeners.
The reading of a paper before the Anthropological ■
Institute on the African tribes of the British Empire
completed the round of his public engagements at this
time, and with the finishing of his four articles for Good
Words on the Niger joiirney, he was glad to find himself
released for the enjoyment of a spring holiday.
The effects of his recent illnesses and hardships were
ever and anon making themselves unpleasantly felt.
Witli all his buoyancy of heart and vigour of will he
could not ignore the inward reminders of his need of
further rest and trt-atment. Even his lungs M'ere for a
time under suspicion. That suspicion proved to be un-
founded ; but it was manil'estly desirable that he should
seek a more genial climate for a month or two. In the
middle of February, therefure, he left for the Iiiviera.
Amid the sunshine and the social brightness of that
lovely region, he, of course, found much to interest him
and to help him in escaping, for a time at least, from the
too insistent consciousness of his physical troubles. To
him, with his in'.ense love of nature and poetic sensibility,
the varying aspects of the wonderful scenery were an
unfailing deliglit. He loved to watch the miglity moun-
tains with their rugged summits towering up into the
blue, and to trace their descent, now by beetling cliff,
IGS JOSEPH THOMSON, AFlUCAN EXPLORER.
anon by terraced, vine-covered slopes, till they glided out
through orange groves and gardens to meet the opalescent
sea. The combination of sternness and softness, of the
elemental and the artistic, awoke a responsive symphony
of the strong and gentle in his own nature. He was both
stirred and soothed.
As was to be expected in his ailing condition, he at
times felt somewhat keenly the want of companionship.
But this only made him the more anxious to use his
opportunities and to see what was happening around him.
It was not in his nature to be of a sad countenance when
others were frolicking. Despite all the terrible experi-
ences he had passed through, his boyishness of heart was
ever ready to assert itself. The season in wliich he had
arrived at the Eiviera was just the one to give scope to
his love of fun. Writing from Nice in the end of March,
he says : —
" I arrived here just in time for the Carnival. Need I
say that, as I am not given to dissipating in the usual
ways, I determined that for once I should cast off my
melancholy visage and have a good all-round time of it.
I accordingly threw myself with abandon into all the wild
revelling going on, and, amid masquerades, battles of
flowers, and the wild melee of the confetti days, I was not
found in the rear. It would be impossible within the
limits of a letter to describe that week of unrestrained
nonsense, or to tell you how I quite forgot that I had for
some time assumed the role of ' the most miserable man
alive,' who had come to conclude at twenty-eight that
life was a fraud and a delusion."
But his liigh spirits were not to be indulged witli
impunity. Unsuspected, a chastening hand was there
to summon iiim back to soberness. His constitution,
rendered sensitive by his experience of African damps
and hardships, could not bear the exposure at that
treacherous season. On the last day of the amusements
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AKb CONTROVERSY. 169
he caught a bad chilL For the next fortnight he was
confined to his hotel with inflammation in the hmg. An
attack of rheumatism followed ; but, fortunately, it so far
yielded to treatment as to allow him in a few days more
to resume his tour, though with more need of " setting
up" than ever, and with aches enough to keep daily
before his mind the lesson of caution.
It may well be supposed that with his ardent nature
and his liabit of making light of troubles, he did not take
kindly to the restraints which he had to impose upon
himself. They depressed him by making him feel that
he had no longer the physical vitality which used to be
such a joy to him. The consciousness of them also took
no doubt something from the pleasure which he had
anticipated for himself in exploring the treasures of each
new place on his route. Perhaps it is this that explains
the touch of cynicism, so uncommon in him, with wluch
he hits off, in one of his letters, the impressions of his
trip : —
" How can I, in the limits of a letter, tell you how,
disgusted with Nice, I kicked the dust off' my feet and
tied eastward ? Pleasanter would it be to linger under
the sheltering buttresses of the Alps, lapped by clearest
blue-coloured Mediterranean waves, in an atmosphere
laden with perfume of violet and orange — everything
tempting me to turn lotus-eater and no more return to
my island home, with its shrouding fogs and bitter blasts.
Hov/ pleasant also would it be to ' Cook ' you through the
marble palaces of Genoa with their artistic treasures — for
which you find the appropriate expressions of rapture in
the pages of your Baedeker and Murray. It is im-
possible to describe the sights and scenes of the birth-
place of so much of the art of Italy, Florence, with its
memories of Savonarola, of Dante, JMicliael Angelo, and
a host of others. Here you get your Madonnas by the
acre, and Holy Families till you find yourself exclaiming,
170 Joseph thomsox, ai-'rican EXPLouEit.
Hang them ! Still you soon come to talk learnedly of
the merits of Andrea del Sarto, of Fra Bartolomeo, and
others — and isn't it something to be able to cram a few
names like these down the throats of less travelled
acquaintances ? Milan next came under my critical eye,
and the Cathedral was so unfortunate as not to meet with
my approval. Como, no doubt in compliment to me as a
Scotsman, obscured its blue skies, and draped itself in
Scotch mists, and kept up a drizzle of rain, so that I had
the satisfaction of feeling myself on a Higliland loch in
Italy. The St. Gothard route was grand, however; and
how shall I describe Lucerne ? Words fail me. The
weather was perfect, the scenery glorious, and the sunsets
unecjualled in my experience. I left with reluctance,
passed Paris in contempt, and here I am in London."
This was in the end of April. In London he was
detained some time in connection with the Colonial and
Indian Exhibition, which was to be opened in the early
sunmier, and to which he had promised a collection of
his photographs and interesting curios, illustrative of the
strange lands and peoples he had visited. The arrange-
ment of his exhibit was a matter on which he spent much
pains, as he was very particular about securing artistic
effect. The time of his stay in London was made lively
for him with feteii and functions of various sorts — too
lively, in fact. Dinners, garden-parties — including one
given by the Princess Louise — and other like entertain-
ments made somewhat severe demands upon his limited
strength. As soon, therefore, as the duty in connection
with the exhibition was off his hands he was glad to
return to Scotland.
There, amid the healthful repose of the country and tlie
cheering brightness of opening summer, he gradually
regained much of his former elasticity, and with the
revival of his physical tone came back to him a fresh
sense of joy in the beauties of his native vale. In the
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AND COXTROVERSt. 171
renewal of old associations lie could forget the years of
toil and sufteriug and feverish stress, and be a boy again.
" How am I to see you," he writes, at this time, to a
former companion, " and have at least some drives and
walks about the old place, reviving our souls witli the
sentiment of other times, now so rare in these hlme days
of ours, in which it is 'the proper thing' to be people of
the world, which means that we are to have no beliefs, no
emotions, no ideas, except those which are the fashion of
the hour ? Xobody, of course, can mix with the w^orld
without getting tainted to some extent with its artificial
ways ; but I always like to keep a warm corner in my
heart, in which are treasured up my boyish enthusiasms
— some corner where no echo of the world's cynicism and
scepticism is allowed to enter. How delightful it woiild
be to ramble with you up the Sandrum wood or in the
more gloomy Crichope Linn, and give all these chivalrous
notions a good airing before locking the door of that
particular corner for another period ! "
In the middle of this summer, Nithsdale, like the rest
of the country, was in the throes of a general election, and
in the wordy conflicts of the rival parties in the locality
he could not but take a keen interest. He professed to
be no politician, but he had really very decided Liberal
sympathies. He could not help taking a side in a quiet
way, especially as he felt that the circumstances of the
neighbourhood in relation to the land tj^uestion constituted
a pressing case for reform. The Liberal candidate, Mr.
Thomas McKie, was one of his own intimate and most
highly-valued friends. No one who knew Josejdi Thom-
son, therefore, was surprised when one day he appeared
upon the public platform at Thornhill, and vigorously
supported Mr. McKie's candidature.
As his vigour increased, it seemed as a matter of course
to seek outlet in pedestrian exercise. Soon he was able
to extend his walks for pastime to distances which few
172 JOSEPH THOMSOK^ AFKICAN EXPLORER.
even of the most enthusiastic would think of attempting.
One feat in particular may be mentioned, by which he
celebrated his return to tlie ranks of the convalescent.
In the middle of July he walked, one day, all the way to
Edinburgh — a distance of seventy miles. On the journey
of sixteen hours he made only one stop, namely, at
Biggar, for breakfast. He arrived in Edinburgh early in
the evening, and after tea sallied forth to the Exhibition,
in which he rambled about for another couple of hours.
Curiously, the extraordinary effort did hiui not the
slightest harm.
But, indeed, this power of tramping over long distances
without fatigue was with him quite a gift, and it had been
developed to the full by the kind of life-work which had
fallen to him. He had, of course, a love for this sort of
exercise, and he had instinctively developed the method
which enabled him to accomplish the most with the
smallest physical expenditure. His feats in this way
turned not so much upon strength as upon art.
In health-giving holiday exercises of this nature, varied
with reading and a measure of literary work, the summer
months of 1886 passed away. For the most part he re-
mained bright of spirit himself, and an inspirer of bright-
ness in others. Yet now and then a great feeling of
restlessness would come upon him. Writing to his
intimates in such moments of depression, he would accuse
himself of seeing everything in a morbid light.
" It is so different," lie would say, "from the old days
of enthusiasm, when everything was so fresh and novel,
so wonderful, so beautiful. Now there seems nothing
worth working for, and still less worth living for."
'• Why," he exclaims in one of these moods, " cannot we
always remain with the same thoughts and feelings, the
same romantic enthusiasms, and bright ideals, and noble
aims, which characterised us about twenty ? Then we
first begin to live. The world seems so fresh, so new, so.
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AND CONTROVERSY. 173
very desirable. How glorious everytliing looks. A prim-
rose patliway, fair with delights, appears to lead through
the world. Alas ! we do not go very far before a hundred
delightful illusions vanish, and a hundred things we
fancied solid realities prove to be the veriest mirages.
Our road is strewn with burst-up hopes and Dead Sea
fruit. And when we turn our longing eyes back to the
point we started from, it is only to find disappointment ;
for we have eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge,
and what we enjoyed at the beginning of our journey
would now appear to be ' flat, stale, and unprofitable.' "
These, however, were but passing moods, the after-echo
of much dolorous experience. Few even of those who
lived nearest to him had any reason to suspect him of
entertaining thoughts of sadness.
In the early autumn the British Association met at
Birmingham, and thither he went, according to promise,
to read a paper. He took as the title of his address —
" Niger and Central Sudan Sketches," and obtained a
very appreciative reception. The Times, in a general
article on the work of the Association, specially noticed
his contribution, and described him as having " kept a
crowded and attentive audience enchained for more than
an hour." In this paper, after recounting the siglits,
incidents and impressions of his journey, he set himself
to discuss the commercial prospects of the country in
question, and to give reasons for the faith that was in
him. His conclusion amounted to this : that " in all the
wide range of tropical Africa there is no more promising
field for commerce than this semi-civilised region which
forms the central area of the Niger basin," and that in-
deed it is " the only region in Central Africa whi(;h
presents any prospects whatever of development in the
immediate future worth speaking about."
A brief sojourn in London, after the meetings of the
Association, was devoid of incident, and in the middle of
174 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFl^ICAN EXPLORER.
September he returned to Gatelawbridge. It was only,
however, that he might make preparations for a possible
new move in life, thoughts of which he was beginning to
entertain. In a letter written on September 20tli he
says : —
" There seems to be very little chance of any more
exploring on the big scale. I would ///.r so much to do
some more, but Africa is played out in the meantime.
In a week, therefore, I am going off to Paris, where I
intend to stay till the end of the year, furbishing up my
French in preparation for the final plunge into the Con-
sular service."
Not that he had any positive prospect of employment
in such service. Not, either, that he had any craving
after it. Hardly any post, indeed, could have been less
to his personal liking, in many respects, than that of a
consulate. For a man of his active, ardent, energetic
nature, accustomed, moreover, to form independent judg-
ments and frankly to speak out his mind, the idea of
being buried alive in some stagnating African seaport,
and subjecting his individuality to the fetters of red-tape,
was one quite without attraction. But, on the other
hand, his varied experience had given him a nniipie
knovv'ledge of native races, their needs and ways, and his
studies and the training of circumstances had so fitted
liim for usefulness in Africa, that, in default of a more
congenial call, he tliought he might look forward to this
as a practical way of furthering the cause of civilisation.
In his schooldays, French was the only language which
he had any liking for. He had only learnt it then, of
course, in an elementary fashion, but in the sul)se(|uent
years he had always casually been enlarging his acquaint-
ance with it. Circumstances, however, had shown him
the importance for a man in public life of being able to
speak the language in a free and fluent way. To this
object, therefore, he would now devote himself, while at
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AND CONTROVERSY. 175
the sa'ue time ,Liait)iiig a little moro knowledge of some
phases of life which had been liitherto hidden from him.
It was an additional element in his resolve to spend the
winter in Paris that one of his intimates, Mr. T. L.
Gilmour, then private secretary to Lord Eosebery, now
a barrister in the Temple, liad laid his phans f()r a like
sojourn.
During liis stay in the gay city lie boarded in the house
of Madame de Preville, who occupied a flat in the Fau-
bourg St. Hon ore.
He was fortunate, in a sense, in having come into this
particular household, for it gave him an opportunity of
studying a very interesting strahua of Parisian society.
Madame de Preville was herself a descendant of the great
Mirabeau, and something of the glamour connected with
that romantic and notable figure lingered about her
family. As one who, though poor now, had come of
ancient and noble lineage, she moved in a social circle
of precisely the like sort. In fact the old lady reckoned
as many counts, marquises, etc., among her relations as
she did dollars in her purse — a fact of which she was
duly proud— and thus tlie young explorer was able to
make the acquaintance of people Ijearing names famous in
French history, and with whom it would not have been
easy otherwise to mingle.
Then Madame de Preville's house had also its literary
associations. She was a near relative of the celebrated
authoress who, under the nom de guerre of " Gyp," amused
and interested her public with dainty satires on the
vaiious phases of modern fashionable life, and -whose
delicate art in the use of words was in itself an attrac-
tive study. The fiimily thus stood at least within the
I'ringe of literary I'aiis, and breathed something of the
atmosphere pertaining to the writers and writings of
the day.
The only other member of the household was
]\Iadame's daughter Jeanne, a Varmennr of the religious
176 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
class, who went devoutly to church every morning, and
was ready to dance and sing every evening — a very
charming demoiselle after her kind, good-natured, bright,
and an excellent musician. On the floor above dwelt
another lady who professionally taught the language.
With her he promptly arranged to become a pupil.
The situation had a dash of novelty in it which ap-
pealed to the romantic as well as the humorous side of
his nature. At first there was great fun in the attempts
of the ladies and their new boarder to make themselves
mutually understood. For a time there was much de-
lightful murdering of both French and English. The
result was of the best, however, for his purpose ; for the
de Previlles began to feel quite a personal interest in his
progress, and presently he found himself, much to his
amusement, and sometimes a little to his embarrassment,
an object of educational attention to no less than three
gracious ladies, each of whom was equally bent upon
making Ic jennc ecossais a proficient in the use of their
beautiful tongue.
For the first six weeks or so there was no opportunity
for his restlessness asserting itself. He worked systemati-
cally at the task he had set for himself, and not in vain ;
for by the end of one month he could converse intelligibly
on ordinary subjects.
It may well be supposed that he lost no opportunity
of seeing what was to be seen beneath the surface of
Parisian life. Some aspects of that life interested him
greatly, particularly the social amenities and amusements
of the different classes. But in the main he found little
to satisfy him, and much to depress him. The impression
which he had already formed was only deepened by fuller
knowledge. Paris seemed to him a sad place, with all its
gaiety and sparkle — a place to visit, not to dwell in, a
place to wonder at and pass on.
Gradually he and his work as an explorer began to be
known to a widenini"- circle — for in the same week in
LtT£RATUlll3, LEISURE, AND CONTROVERSY. 177
which he came to Paris a French edition of ' Through
Masai-land ' was published, and attracted considerable
attention. Flattering references were being made to his
name as an explorer, and one evening he had the some-
what unique enjoyment of sitting unknown, as one of the
audience, when a M. Paul Vibert eloquently and appre-
ciatively discoursed the story of his Masai journey. He
could not quite remain hid, but he avoided publicity
as much as possible, Bej^ond giving an interview to
M. Elisee Eeclus, who was busily gathering material
for his great geographical work, ' JSTouvelle Geographie
Universelle,' he, for the most part, avoided the recogni-
tion of geographers altogether. He woidd, meantime,
be true to his mission as a student, and content himself
with his books, walks, and such social opportunities as
he might have without being lionised. "I am beginning,"
he writes in November, " to know a lot of very nice
people, especially members of the old French aristocracy.
Often asked out. To-night, for instance, I dine at one
place, and afterwards attend a reception at another. Was
at the theatre on Tlnirsday with a marquis and his family.''
Eegarding this Paris sojourn his companion Gilmour
writes interesting reminiscences, which we may here
quote : —
" Thomson soon became a great favourite with the
small circle in which we moved. His ' Through Masai-
land ' had been translated into French, and his African
adventures were a never-failing subject of interest and
wonder to the visitors at Madame de Preville's. I re-
member one amusing incident connected with the French
edition of the book. Tlie French publisher, not content
with the prosaic illustrations of the English edition —
mostly reproductions of photograplis — had commissioned
an artist of imagination to illustrate the scene where
Thomson was tossed by a Ijuffalo. The result was an
exciting picture, with the explorer high in the air. Some
178 JOSEPM THOMSON, APlUCAN EXpLOllEii.
unknown admirer had, at Christmas, sent him a niimhef
of photographs of this picture, and soon afterwards a
i'rench lady, whose mental attitude towards our country-
men was, that nothing was too eccentric for us to attempt,
nothing too impossible for us to accomplish, was heard to
ask Thomson, in all seriousness, how he had succeeded
in posing ' cotnme ga ' /
" We lived very quietly during those months, doing
the various sights, and taking long M-alks in the sur-
rounding country, much to the astonishment of our
French friends, who to the last could never understand
why we should walk from Versailles, when the railway
was available. Thomson's easy gaiety of heart and
exuberant spirits were really almost a revelation to the
mnjority of our hostess's visitors. It was, on the other
hand, a constant source of astonishment to him to find
what extraordinary ideas the average middle-class French
man or woman had of the inhabitants of these islands.
They pictured us apparently as a morose and sullen race,
living in an atmosphere, physical and mental, of de-
pressing fog, and Thomson appealed to them as something
almost incredible, since his buoyant good spirits ran so
absolutely counter to all their preconceived ideas, Madame
de Preville was wont to offer the explanation that the
Scotch were a very superior race to the English — and
we did not say her nay."
The only diversion from his French studies which he
allowed to himself, in those early days of his stay in
Paris, was in the writing of his article for the Contcin-
yorary Rcvinu, on " Mohammedanism in Central Africa,"
wliich appeared in the December number.
As has already been noticed, he had been immensely
impressed, while in the "Western Sudan, by the hold
which Islam had taken of the people, and by the vital
energy with which it moulded and controlled their entire
social life. The way in which it had adapted itself to
LlTtRATUHE, LElSUilE, AKD COXTKOVEESV. HO
the negro character in those vast regions, and lifted men
up from barbarism, not only to a measure of civilisation
but to genuine religious fervour, had struck him with all
the force of a revelation. The facts of the case, as they
gradually unfolded under his eye, awaked in him new
thoughts. As one liaving the interests of Christianity
deeply at heart, lie could not help asking how it came
that the pure and sublime religion of the Gospel had,
among native races, proved itself so powerless and un-
progressive in comparison. With the noblest truths to
proclaim, and the most devoted and most self-sacriticing
lives spent in the dissemination of them, why were
Christian missions quite unable to show anything like
this in any of the regions he had visited ? How was it,
for instance, that Islam could quite eliminate the drink
traffic and the horrors of slavery from the life of the
teeming populations, while elsewhere, in presence of
European and professedly Christian influences, these ac-
cursed things were rampant and apparently irrepressible ?
When a Divine religion advanced so meagrely in its
visible influence, was it not time that its adherents
were looking more critically at their metliods of dis-
seminating it, and asking whether they might not learn
some practical lessons from their successful rivals ? The
religion of Jesus Christ ought to carry everything before
it, and when it was not only not doing so, but barely
holding its own, was there not a call for some new
departure ?
These were questions wdiich pressed upon his own
mind, and in his article in the Contemporar// he simj)ly
sought to give voice to them, and to show that they were
questions worth asking. The role of candid friend, how-
ever, is not a pcpular one, at least with the persons
advised. It is not surprising, therefore, that the recep-
tion of the article was somewhat mixed. He did not
expect it to be otherwise. But he was not a little
grieved to find himself represented in some quarters
N 2
180 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFIUCAN EXPLORER.
as hostile to missions and missionaries. No suggestion
could, in fact, have been further from the truth. It was
repudiated with sufficient point and effectiveness by
himself, in a letter which he subseipiently wrote to Tlic
Times in connection with the controversy on *' Islam in
Africa," initiated in that newspaper by Canon Taylor.
" No one," he wrote, " is a more sincere admirer of the
missionary than I ; no one knows better the noble lives
of many and the singleness of purpose with which they
pursue the course which they think to be the true one.
They seem to me the best and truest heroes which this
nineteenth century has produced. Nobody has more
reason to speak well of them than I, and to rejoice that
they have spread over the waste places of the earth. In
tlie heart of the Dark Continent I have been received as
a brother ; I have been relieved when I was destitute ; I
have been nursed when I was half dead ; and time after
time I have been sent on my weary way rejoicing that
there is such a profession of men as Christian missionaries."
He had not a word to say against the men ; but he
thought that none who had the christiauisation of Africa
at heart should be above examining their methods in the
light of experience, or taking a useful hint from any
quarter. He believed that if they would only condescend
to adapt themselves to the mental level of the people,
teach nothing but the veriest simplicities of Christian
faith and practice, and bring the influence of religion
more to bear upon the outward environment of the
natives in the way of industrial training, and a relentless
crusade against social evils like the traffic in strong
drink, etc., "they might not only rival the success of
Mohammedanism in the AVestern Sudan, but far ex-
ceed it."
This, however, is by the way, and we must not
digress.
As it drew towards the close of the year 1886, it became
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AND CONTROVERSY. 181
evident that some new influence was coming in to pre-
occupy his mind. It was just about this time that
anxiety regarding Emin Pasha began to make itself felt,
and the very mention of his need of relief was sufficient
to stir the explorer's heart to eager interest and to -turn
all his thoughts once more to Africa.
It is unnecessary to recall the details of one of the
most extraordinary chapters in the modern knight-
errantry of travel — a chapter which combined, as few
others have done, the story of high aims and simple
folly, of daring and blundering, of tragedy and fiasco.
We shall only mention so much as is necessary to
explain Joseph Thomson's relation to the affair.
Emin Pasha, it will be remembered, was the person
appointed by General Gordon to be Governor of the
Egyptian equatorial provinces. He was a man of quite
remarkable accomplishments and capacities — a qualified
doctor, a gifted linguist, an acute diplomatist, a cultured
scientist; and in the administration of the country put
under his charge he had obtained a very striking measure
of success. The unhappy events, however, which cul-
minated in the death of Gordon at Khartum, had the
effect of quite isolating Emin, and, for at least three
years previous to the time of which we are speaking,
nothing was heard of him or his mission.
At last news of him reached this country. That news
was of a disquieting sort. It was thus summarised at the
time : Eor the past three years this distinguished man
had been completely cut off from the civilised world.
He had been attacked again and again by the rebels from
the north ; his soldiers had been reduced to absolute
nakedness and to such scanty supplies of food that they
had even gnawed their own sandals to still the pangs of
hunger.
Suddenly the British public awoke to the fact that a
brave man, and a trusted friend of the hero Gordon, was
being culpably forgotten, and imnaediately the question
182 JOSErU THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
of how to lelieve him became the question of the day.
The British public tends to extremes, and it was now
as eaoerly urgent as it had hitherto been apathetic. Day
by day the newspapers were full of discussions on the
absorbing topic.
It was beyond question that an expedition would
require to be organised forthwith ; and to lead such an
expedition would have been a task perfectly after Joseph
Thomson's own liking. His heart leapt up at the very
thought of it. Xothing could have more delighted him
than to undertake it without personal fee or reward. ITe
felt, too, that he had good grounds to advance why his
claims to lead such an expedition should be considered.
Rapidity was obviously of supreme importance in any
honest attempt to reach the beleaguered man ; and for
directness and shortness what route could compare with
that through Masai-land which he had already traversed
and made his own ? The same route liad also the very
great advantage of healthiness and of a climate that
permitted of camels and donkeys being taken with
perfect safety, while there were practically no topo-
graphical difficulties. By this route a caravan of four
hundred porters, accompanied with fifty to seventy camels
and donkeys, could he easily started within three months
from the coast ; in less than other three it could Ije at
the north end of Kavirondo, and probably in one month
more Emin could be reached. Such was his mental
figuring out of the enterprise as he advocated it in a
letter to The Times (21tli November).
()ther routes were proposed, and in the discussion that
followed his interest deepened daily in intensity until it
became almost a fever of excitement, especially when he
saw or suspected that other motives than the simple
desire to render speedy succour to Emin were coming
into play in inlhiential quarters.
The route which he advocated was so manifestly suited
to the object in view, and he himself had given such
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AXD COXTROYERSY. 183
abundant evidence of his courage and resourcefulness as
a leader, that there were many powerful voices raised in
favour of his being appointed. His friends, however, did
not command the purse-strings, consequently they could
only advise.
But their opinion could not be lightly set aside, and the
effect was seen in the fact that, even after Mr. Stanley
was chosen, the most strenuous efforts were made by the
committee to induce him to go as his lieutenant. He
was eager to help. But his judgment told him that
this proposal would never do. Stanley's methods and
his were simply the antipodes of each other, and no good
could come of their being joined together in the same
enterprise. So he held the committee off until within
two days of the starting of the expedition.
How he was feeling at this time and what he did will
best be described by quoting one of his letters written at
the crisis. He says : —
"Can you imagine me in the sulks, or off my head, or
somebody finding it necessary to tell me to ' Keep my
hair on ' ? 1 am sure you cannot. Am I not the most
philosophical of mankind, inclined to take ill-luck and
good luck equally airily ? However, all that has been
burst up during the last few weeks. I have been wild
at being out of this Emin Pasha business, and doing the
most ridiculous things — sending off the most aggressive
letters to The Times in the evening, only to telegraph
next morning to have them stopped. The extent of my
distraction may be gathered from the fact that, finding
there was absolutely no chance of another expedition
being got up or of my views being adopted, I actually
came to the point of ^'olunteering to go with Stanley, in
spite of my opinion of him and my disbelief in his plans
and route. Happily, however, I was too late. All their
arrangements had been made."
He was fortunate, indeed, not to have been taken at his
184 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
impulsive offer, and as the lamentable story of horror and
loss in connection with the expedition came gradually
before the public, he saw only too abundant reason to
thank God that he had been too late. He continued, of
course, to watch the progress of the expedition from the
first with the closest attention. But so convinced was he
that the interests of Emin Pasha were being sacrificed to
other considerations, that he had only the most melancholy
satisfaction in finding his original contentions justified by
the whole course of events.
Although the expedition had been finally, and, as he
thought, fatuously, started on the Congo route, he did
not give up hope of something being yet done by the
route which he himself had advocated. This hope was
strengthened by the receipt, a month or two afterwards,
of letters from Emin himself, in which he made it clear
that he had no intention of abandoning his province, and
that it was by the Masai route he was expecting assist-
ance to come to him. The appearance of these letters
moved Joseph Thomson once more to appeal to the public
through The Times. He said :—
" My object in writing, is not to attempt to reopen
the question of the routes. That would be more than
absurd with Mr. Stanley already on the way, though it
may be interesting to note that Emin Pasha himself
has effectually confirmed my contention that the Masai
route was the one which should have been selected for
his relief.
" The one thing to remark in reading Emin's letters is
that he does not want to come away, and that he is only
wanting means to enable him to hold on. He writes, ' I
repeat what I then said ; I shall remain there and hold
together as long as possible the remnants of the work of
the last ten years.' He describes what he could do, and
would [ittempt to do ' if we could only get a few caravans
sent, via Mombasa, Masai, Masala, IJakolio, and from
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AND CONTROVERSY. 185
thence either here or to Kabarega.' Again and again in
his letters he appeals to the ' philanthropic spirit ' of
England, reminds her of her ' ancient traditions,' and
asks if she will allow his province to sink back into the
state of barbarism from which he in a manner has
raised it
" Under these circumstances, why not fulfil Emin's
expectations and open up the route through Masai-land ?
Such a scheme should appeal to all Englishmen who have
the interests and honour of their country at heart.
Masai-land lies in ' the sphere of British influence ' —
that is to say, it is practically ours. Are we to follow a
dog-in-the-manger policy, and neither do anything to open
that region up nor allow any one else to do so ? From
the wreck of nearly twenty years' labour, carried out with
admirable foresight, in the interests of Great Britain, Sir
John Kirk has been able to secure for us Masai-land. Are
we to be content with the mere fact of possession ? . . . .
" In utilising the Masai route the philanthropist will do
a noble work in preventing the lapse of Emin's province
into barbarism or the hands of Tippoo Tib, the geographer
will add richly to the store of facts, the sportsman will
find virgin fields for the exercise of his love of adventure,
the trader, or it may be the colonist, new countries ot
some promise, and British influence — now so sadly on the
wane in East Africa — revive once more, and become the
reality it was before the Germans, with their new-born
enterprise, stepped in and occupied the place which, for
reasons incomprehensible to the outsider, our Government
has caused to be vacated."
This letter elicited no immediate practical response,
though probably it had its influence in stimulating the
aspiration for the opening up of the Dark Continent
which was finding expression after a fashion in the efforts
of the Imperial British East Africa Company.
But we are anticipating the order of events — this com-
186 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
munication having been penned in London on May 13,
1887, nearly three months after he had left Paris.
In December, 1886, he had been across in London in
connection with the Emin relief business, and at New
Year time he writes thus to his friend Miss Noake : —
" I need hardly announce to you the fact that the
Channel separates us, and that once more I have shaken
or brushed the mud of London from my feet, fled from its
Hades-like fogs, and put myself under the flag of la belle
France, to succumb to the witcheries of the fair ones who
live and breathe under its protecting folds.
" A hundred times I have ]iad reason to curse the fate
which took me across to London. Ah well, there is
notliing for it but to drown my disappointment in
Parisian dissipation — of the respectable sort, of course —
a ramble in the boulevards, a peep in at a theatre or a ball
or a concert, a cup of coffee at a cafe, and other like
innocent amusements, including itf course pleasant even-
ings at 178 Faubourg St. Honoro, with Clioj)iii, Liszt, etc.,
interpreted l)y IMademoisellc Jeanne with deft fingers.
" It was quite soothing to my wounded pride to find
such an effusive welcome on my return — to find, in fact,
the fatted calf killed for me. . . . 1-have hardly yet
fallen into my old ways here, but am gradually picking
up the broken threads."
To quell his own restlessness, he threw himself with a
new zeal into the study of French literature, and as by this
time he was pretty much at home with the language, he
l)egan to develoji a real interest in many of the leading
modern writers of fiction and poetry — an interest which
only deepened in after years. The writings of Dumas, Zola,
De Musset, Daudet, and Guy de Maupassant, were all more
or less dipped into, and each had some point of attraction
for him. The moral tone of some of these disgusted him,
and he could not but feel that the sentiment of others
was of the shallowest, r)Ut, as illustrations of the
LITERATURE, LEISURE, AND CONTROVERSY. 187
art of literature and of the varied use of perfect
idiomatic frencli, the books of all were to him a con-
stant subject of admiration, and the reading of them
l^roved a new and powerful influence in relation to his
own literary taste and style.
Thus the weeks pleasantly passed on to February. By
that time he felt that he had obtained all that he sought
from Paris, and that it would be well for him to be
setting about some new employment. One of the closing
experiences of his stay was a social function, which he
thus describes : —
" Since I last wrote, I have been to another ball — this
time a very proper or.e, and as staid as French people can
make an affair of that kind. It was given by Grevy, the
President of the Republic, at the Ely see. I never saw
such a crowd of utterly insignificant men, and plain or
ugly women, in my life. Among some five thousand
people I did not see five women that I would care to look
at twice, and not one really beautiful or even pretty,
while the men looked like a collection of miserable tailors
or shoemakers, with a sprinkling of convicts and other
I3oor and weak specimens of humanity. Of course, it
could hardly be called a representative gathering of
French people, as the aristocratic element was entirely
absent, as well as that part of the middle class which
aspires to be fashionable. Neither of these will patronise
the head of rei)ublican France. Everybody of course
tried to dance with heroic persistence, and with a certain
a])poarance of enjoying the results of their eiforts. To
the onlooker, however, it all seemed a failure. The crowd
was so great that all they could do was to bob up and
down from one foot to another, receiving witli sickly
smiles the weights of their neighbours on tluMr favourite
corns, or else driving from one t?lbow to another, but in
the midst of it all trying as best they might to keep in
harmony with the music, I myself, as the philosophic
188 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
and disiaterested outsider, inwardly digested the scene,
and made many observations of great wisdom on the
French, the queer ways people take to amuse themselves,
and how frequently men and women are content with the
appearance of pleasure."
In the same letter he says : —
" I am gradually working up my feelings to the point
of being able to cast Europe and civilisation to the dogs,
and burying myself for ever in the heart of my beloved
Africa. I intend to leave Paris in the end of this month
for home. After a few weeks I shall return to London to
set about my next move in life ; but what that will be I
know not."
In the beginning of March accordingly he said his
adieux to his pleasant French friends, and returned to
Scotland.
( 189 )
CHAPTEE IX.
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS.
The "next move in life" did not suggest itself so readily
as he could have desired. He was now fully restored to
something like his normal health, and, with energy to
spend, it was simply impossible for one of his ardent
temperament to rest content in even temporary idleness.
It is not surprising, therefore, to find him writing, shortly
after his return, that at home he was " mooning about
dissatisfied with himself and with everything around
him," and jocularly adding that he thought he would
" turn into the quarry to see if a little honest work would
not be good for the spleen."
It was at this time that the idea occurred to him of
making an incursion into a new realm of literary effort,
namely, the writing of fiction. In May he writes from
Gatelawbridge : —
" I don't know how long I shall remain here. It may
be two weeks or two months. That will largely depend
on whether I get started to an African romance which
has been fermenting in my brain for the last two months.
What do you think of me as a possible novelist, working
out something thrilling on the slopes of the mighty
Kilimanjaro and the plains and plateaux of Masai-land ?
In my heart of hearts I don't think anything will come of
it. However, it amuses me at present."
Something did come of it. The idea gradually took
190 JOoEPli TIiO:^JttL)Xi AFRICAN EXi'LOin-^R.
more definite shape and transferred itself to paper.
Ultimately it claimed public attention in the form of
' Ulu,' by Joseph Thomson and E. Harris Smith.
The evolution of this romance will best be described in
the words of his co-worker Miss Smith, now the \vife of
])r. Hugh Calder, of Leith — a lady with whom, from her
bright student days, he was, all through his own career,
on terms of brotherly intimacy, and of whose literary
abilities he entertained a high admiration : —
" The idea that we should write an African novel
together," says Mrs. Calder, "originated accidentally one
day whilst we were discussing some recent work of
fiction — ' She,' I think it was — ^which had stirred Joe's
indignation by depicting Africa as it is not — the theatre
of a tliousand incidents and adventures appropriate only
to a Baron Miinchausen or the heroes of the Arabian
Nights.
" ' I've a great mind to write a novel myself,' he
exclaimed, 'that shall be a protest against all this im-
possible stuff. Yes, I will, if you will help me ! ' ' But
what do I know of Africa?' I objected. 'As much as I
do of writing novels,' he replied — a retort that for the
moment seemed convincing, however inadequate it might
appear on after consideration.
■' Carried away by his enthusiasm, before I knew where
I was I found myself taking the projected novel as vn
fiiit accomiili, and had lightly promised to ' look after the
characters and the dialogue,' whilst he should ' take care
of the local colour.'
" The ' local colour' was to be the feature of the book.
The Kilimanjaro region having been fixed upon as the
theatre of action, it was determined that the scenery, the
inhabitants, the customs of the district should be de-
scribed with the most faithful accuracy, as opportunity
occurred. No incidents or adventures were to be intro-
duced save such as might have happened to any one who
OViJU THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. l9l
chanced to be in that neighbourhood ten or twelve years
ago. The characters, though not drawn from any actual
prototypes, were to consist of just such a group as cir-
cumstances might very well have thrown together at a
time when East Central Africa had as yet scarcely begun
to be penetrated by the first faint rays of European
civilisation. In a word, Africa and the Africans were
to be depicted as they appear to the explorer, the
naturalist, and the ethnologist, attractive or repulsive
as it might happen, but in any case unadorned by a halo
either of glory or of honour.
" The introduction of Europeans at all may be said to
be purely incidental ; and whatever may be the opinion
of readers, to the authors it was in the development of
the personality of Uhi herself that the interest of the
story mainly centred.
" The character of the lovable, but untutored, little
maid was intended to illustrate some of the best traits
of an utterly uncivilised nature, and at the same time to
show its limitations. Whatever good qualities Ulu pos-
sessed are inherent, and are by no means the result of the
christianisinc^ and civilising influences to which she was
subjected. Externally, the latter exercised a certain
modifying effect, but only under circumstances in which
they had undivided play. As her conduct on more than
one occasion showed, she was ready at any moment to
relapse into savagery, and at her best never attained to
any higher religion than that of obedient and untiring
devotion to those she loved. It is a religion wliicli has
claimed its martyrs in Africa, as elsewhere, and of these
Ulu was one."
The writing and touching up of this story gave him
pleasant though fitful employment, in the absence of the
more distinctive work for which he longed and in which
he felt he could use his powers to more purpose. In the
course of the summer and autumn he varied his literary
192 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
activities with changes of a holiday character. In July
he was in London with his Paris companion CHlmour,
in connection with tlie celehration of the Queen's Juhilee.
Afterwards he visited Manchester, and addressed a public
meeting on " The demoralisation of native races through
intercourse with Europeans."
In this address he did not by any means uphold the
stereotyped view of the advantage which the spread of
commercial enterprise was supposed to bring to barbarous
tribes. He thought it salutary and necessary to remind
his hearers that there was a reverse side to the shield — a
side which had often forced itself upon his attention as
a traveller. There could, he felt, be no question as to
the nobleness of the Christian aspirations for the good
of the heathen, which found expression in manifold
missionary efforts. But what hope was there of these
aspirations ever being realised, in face of the high-handed
action of various European nations, and very especially
in face of our own national traffic with the natives in
articles which, if a means of gain to us, are morally
ruinous to them ? The traffic in strong drink, above
all, called for plain speaking. It seemed to him that
the diabolical work commenced by the slave trade was
being even more effectually carried on and widened by
that in ardent spirits. We ourselves were doing our
best, or worst, to make the missionary crusade a hopeless
one.
"What," he asked, in effect, "is a missionary here and
there compared with the thousand agents of commerce,
who with untiring and unscrupulous industry dispense
wholesale the deadly product so greatly in demand ?
What is a Bible or a bale of useful goods, for instance,
on the West Coast of Africa, in opposition to the myriad
cases of gin which compete with them ? What chance
ha? a Christian virtue, where the soil is so suitable for
European vice — where, for every individual influenced
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 193
for good by merchant or missionary, there are a thousand
caught up in the Styx-like flood of spirit-poison and
swept off' helplessly to perdition ?
" Ought we then to retire altogether and leave Africa
and the African alone ? No ; we must not, and ought
not if we could. We have reparation and atonement
to make for the evil of the past, by destroying the gin
and weapon trade. We brought the monster into being
and we ought not to rest until we have checked its
desolating career, and slain it outright. Here is a task
which we as a Christian people cannot shirk. Conscience
calls aloud that we should put ourselves as a nation in
sackcloth and ashes, and set about sweeping our commerce
free from the iniquities by which it has been hitherto
characterised. Then will the way be clear for in-
augurating the real work of civilisation, and making the
nations feel that Christianity only means good and the
uplifting of their life for them."
Such was the drift of his address. The subject was
one on which he held very strong and earnest convictions,
and he felt that it behoved him to speak with no bated
breath, when opportunity offered in such a stronghold of
commercial activity. The thoughts, which he here enun-
ciated in a passing way, he afterwards embodied in an
article, which was published in TJic Contemporary Review
(March, 1890).
As the progress of the novel was suspended in August,
owing to the death of Miss Smith's mother, he satisfied
his pedestrian instincts, and at ihe same time revived
his memories of schoolboy days in a walking tour through
Galloway with his old classmate Eobert Armstrong.
Armstrong was like himself, though to a more measured
extent, "a man of his feet," and the two had a happy
outing — an outing none the less happy from the fact
that, in the years since their schooldays, much of life's
history had been made for each of them and their early
194 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEER.
ideals had undergone the test of varied experiences. The
route followed M^as from Thornhill to Carsphairn, thence
by the Deuch "Water to Dairy, and through the beautiful
valley of the Ken to Castle Douglas. From this place
they worked down to Mainsriddel on the Solway, and
thence by Dumfries to Thornhill again.
A projjos of this tour an interesting glimpse of Joseph
Thomson at this stage of his life is presented in remin-
iscences of a casual meeting with him, which were
contributed by a writer to the Dumfries Herald : —
" It was in the summer of 1887, and I had gone to
Carsphairn. On returning from my daily occupation of
fishing in the Deuch Water I was told that two gentlemen
had arrived from Thornhill on foot and were now at the
hotel. As pedestrianism never was my forte, I looked
upon this accomplishment of walking from Thornhill to
Carsphairn as a great feat, and was anxious to see the
two gentlemen who liad performed it. When I entered
the dining-room they were resting, and to my surprise
one of them was a very intimate friend of my own. The
other was Mr. Thomson, and to him I was at once
presented. What struck me about him was his quick
eye, shrewd but kind, which met my own inquiringly.
His slender build made him appear tall. He was lithe of
figure and active in his movements. He had not been in
Carsphairn before, he said, and was anxious to know
about it. Was it far to Loch Doon ? Could he go there
before dinner ? I told him as nearly as I could the
distance of Loch Doon, but considered it too far after his
already long walk. He thought it would give him an
appetite. * The distance was a trifle,' he said. The
trifle was nearly five miles long, single journey, and he
had already walked more than twenty miles as the crow
flies since his breakfast. Nothing would satisfy but that
he would go to Loch Doon. So off the three of us set,
Thomson chatting cheerily all the way. ... I took notice
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 195
of his style of walking. His was not the exact measured
tread of tlie soldier, though it had all its rhythmic beat.
Certainly it was steady and regular, but there was a
departure from the military step in the tremendous fling
forward of one foot as compared with the other. The
body, too, inclined slightly to the one side, caused possibly
by the constant wearing of a side satchel over one shoulder
in his long tropic marches.
" When passing the debris thrown from the mines, and
heaped up on the hillsides, Thomson, with the instinct of
the geologist, was immediately attracted to them in the
hope of spoil, but he was much disappointed here, for he
found nothing of particular interest.
" We reached the summit of the hill at last, for Thom-
son preferred going straight over the top as the shortest
route (a way of his) rather tlian trending the height and
escaping the climb. Our companion elected to sit here
and wait for our return, for we had still half the journey
to perform. There was nothing of interest in our visit to
the loch. Suffice it here tliat Thomson had his desire in
reaching it. As we began the ascent on our way back
]\Ir. Thomson scanned the hill to find him who had
remained behind, for we had determined to go round
rather than over it again, as there was no great difference
in the distance. He soon spied the weary one resting
apparently just where we left him, but he failed to bring
him within my focus ; and we walked a few hundred
yards, too, before I could distinguish him. Had he not
risen, I think I never would have seen him. Thomson
saw him even sitting. Even in liis upright posture his
outline was no greater than a good-sized mantel vase, we
were so distant from him. How Thomson could have
seen him sitting is a marvel to me. If I remember rightly
he explained his powers of perception and penetration to
me at the time. If he did so, I have forgotten now, and
must put them down to his experience and ' gleg ' eyes.
After dining together we visited the churchyard, which
2
196 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
contains some tombs of interest, and thereafter spent the
evening together, listening to many an adventure told
unostentatiously but interestingly by Thomson."
In September he came to Edinburgh, for convenience
in the work of completing his part of ' Ulu,' and to this
task he steadfastly devoted his days for the next two
months. During this time he occupied rooms with
Anderson in York Place. His evenings spent in company
with him and like kindred spirits were replete with just
the enjoyment he revelled in. To have his hands full of
work, and a friend near to open his heart to or to discuss
a point with, was all the happiness he wanted. Then was
he a joyous spirit indeed, and the " flowers of the soul "
(as he was wont to call his more exuberant or fanciful
utterances) would spring to the birth. Not that he was
by nature one who cared to use much speech, or who
watched for opportunities of saying bright or striking
things. It needed favouring circumstances to call out his
powers. " I have often," writes his poet friend, " heard
him confess regret that he had not the knack of expressing
himself in small talk or the art of capping stories. But
he had far better. Once get him on to his favourite
subject or subjects, and his conversation was interesting
in the extreme." In such moments his face would indeed
light up and he would pour forth fact, fun, or fancy
without effort, as his purpose might require it.
By the beginning of November he had iinished the
novel so far as he was concerned, and lie began to look
forward with interest to the appearance of the new
venture. But as was to be anticipated, his release from
literary labour was in one sense by no means a source of
pleasure. It only brought luni anew face to face with
the fact that occupation in the line of his liking and
training was in no haste to present itself. The imme-
diate consequence was a fresh contest with himself, and
a fit of depression in spirits. He felt it so hard to possess
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 197
his soul ill patience, eager as he was to be up and doing.
The reaction after the mental strain of the past two
months no doubt tended to aggravate the depression.
On the 28th of November he writes, in his half-laughing,
half-serious style : —
'' I have had an awful fit of ' the blues,' which curiously
had the effect of making everything look Uaclc. I'or the
time being I loved not the light but sought the darkness.
In the midnight hours I might often be seen Hitting like
Hamlet's ghost round about Arthur's Seat, or at eerie
times, when contented people were snoring in bed, I
would go off for an eighteen miles' walk, to listen in
melancholy desolateness to the weird night sounds, the
rustling of dry leaves, the sighing of the trees, etc.
" What crimes have I committed which require thus
to be expiated ? Is my name of Joe to be confounded
with that of Jew, and am I to be henceforth spoken of as
a re-appearance in the flesh of the unfortunate wanderer ?
" ' Ulu ' was finished and sent off to the publishers last
week. I shall be very much surprised if Miss Smith does
not yet make her mark as a novelist. As for myself, I
have no intention of doing any more in that line for some
considerable time to come. It won't be my blame if I
am not off to Africa before the Xew Year has advanced
far."
In a similar vein he writes, two days later, to another
correspondent : —
" Here I am about to write a letter to you in a most
unfit frame of mind for the pleasing task. One's fancies
should be free and light as air, one's soul expansive, and
imagination somewhat excited, to write in a manner
worthy of the fair reader. But none of these conditions
prevail with me. For the last week or two 1 have been
enjoying a most delightful fit of the blues ; and, still
worse, I have been writing to a religious paper, which has
198 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
been deliberately telling some lies about me. . . . Now
my trouble is this : 1 have not been able to say in set
terms to the editor that he was telling lies. I have only
' corrected ' him. Conceive then the amount of suppressed
passion there is contained in this ' buzzum ' of mine —
making me feel like a volcano, when rather I should
imagine myself some babbling streamlet meandering by
primrose-clad banks or sweet hay-scented fields. When
I ought to soar into the ideal I feel impelled to wallow in
the real, and wish to call a spade a spade without any
circumlocution.
" I wonder if you expect to get any news from me ! If
so you are mistaken. I never write anything but non-
sense, or croon something in the manner of the melancholy
Jacques. For instance, it gives me a certain amount of
melancholy comfort to compare myself at present not to a
volcano or a stream, but to a ship which has broken loose
from its moorings, and with but one man on board to
steer — not a soul to set or trim the sails — with the
consequence that sometimes it goes safely in the right
direction, but when contrary or violent winds rise then
the steerer is helpless, and the ship, now in the trough of
the sea, now submerged under a wave, drives helplessly
hither and thither. Now I frequently ask myself, shall I
ever come to anchor again, ever ship an able-bodied crew
of human virtues and good intentions to assist the steerer,
conscience ? Every day I am saying to myself, I must
mark out a course and steer towards my goal with
unflinching determination."
A brisk walking tour in the direction of Melrose and
the Scott country supplied the necessary tonic for any
atrabiliar tendency. Presently he was his old self again,
as vivacious and sparkling as ever. The perfect correcti^-e
of dolesomeness came to him, however, in another form,
in the opening up of a prospect of further exploration.
On the 28th of January, 1888, he lectured in London
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 199
at the Eoyal Institution, taking for his subject " The
Exploration of Masai-land." There was a large and
brilliant audience Ijy whom he was exceedingly well
received. A propos of this he writes : —
" You will see from TIlc Times report that I still
retain a little touch of fancy and have not quite suc-
cumbed to the prosaic influences of the age. I have come
to the conclusion that life would not be worth living if I
got completely rid of all my little poetical fancies, my
illusions and the strain of romance which still hangs
about me."
To Mrs. Gray-Hill he writes about the same time : —
" Did you see that I had been lecturing at the Eoyal
Institution here a week ago ? It was a great success.
Imagine, however, my feelings a couple of days after on
seeing a leader in a new evening paper in which it was
frankly stated that they had never heard of me or Masai-
land before, implied that the world was equally ignorant,
but ended by soothing my feelings with the flattering
advice that I should write a book. Such is fame — and
London journalism !
" My most interesting news is that I am going to
explore — if possible —the Atlas Mountains. I am going
this time entirely on my own account, as I am thoroughly
tired and disgusted with life in England. I am rusting
rapidly into the heart, and if I do not get thoroughly
rubbed up by action I shall commit suicide or do some
otlier startling thing."
Ever since his visit to the Siidanese kingdoms of So-
koto and Gandu, he had vaguely cherished in his heart
a wish to explore Morocco. The marvellous development
of Mohammedan activity in those central regions, and the
striking illustrations of the civilising influence of Islam
which he had there witnessed, had made him anxious to
observe at its fountain-head the force whose results were
200 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN E^tPLORER.
felt so far away, A people who could make the impress
of their religion, arts and industry so visible and real
across the dread Sahara — never to speak of the part they
had played in European history itself — must, he thought,
be a people worth visiting in their native fastnesses. His
desire to see the Moors at home was only intensified by
the fact that it could not easily be realised. Sir Joseph
Hooker, one of the very few who have penetrated any
distance into the land, had described it as " the most diffi-
cult of all countries to explore." This fact, which had
availed to keep it practically a sealed recess, though lying
at the very gate of prying European nations, only whetted
his craving to be at the heart of the mystery.
It was not the people alone that he was anxious to
study. There was the grand range of the Atlas Moun-
tains still offering virgin soil to the explorer who should
have the courage or the good fortune to penetrate its
glens and passes. The part of its secret which had been
wrested in the plucky journey of Hooker and Ball, and
later in those of Lenz and De Foucault, had only em-
phasised the fact that the range as a whole was practi-
cally unknown, and that whoever should first traverse it
thoroughly would make geographical science his debtor.
Might not he have that honour and privilege ?
But for long there appeared not the least likelihood of
his aspiration being realised in this quarter. Any pro-
posal which tended that way was in general emphatically
discouraged by those whose interest he was fain to arouse.
At last he seems to have come to the conclusion that if
the usual sources of help remained closed, he would make
a bold shift, and essay the enterprise at his own charge.
This resolution at once cut the knot of difficulty. There
were now quite a number willing to lend a hand in
making the proposed expedition a success, and in lighten-
ing the monetary responsibility he was assuming. The
Eoyal Geographical and Eoyal Societies, and subsequently
the British Association, promised subsidies. The Foreign
MOROCCO EXPEDITION. 1888.
MAP 5
i^4- "" 7to^ ^-is.j^J^t:!' -:i^r^ /r-'T'
Thonison^s Route shovm thus •
J. G.Butltolciciew.
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 201
Ottice also willingly undertook to bring its great iiifluence
to bear in the most important quarter, in the way of
obtaining facilities for travel. The result was that, be-
fore much of the year 1888 had run, Joseph Thomson
found himself on the verge of another great venture,
and busy with the manifold worry and excitement of
preparation.
'' Once more," he writes in the beginning of March,
" it is my fate to move on, driven by a resistless demon
within me — a species of Frankenstein which I have
called into existence and cannot now get rid of. I was
only two days at home, and in that time had to gather all
my traps together, see a lot of people, write as many long
letters (business), and last, not least, write my last will
and testament. Now that I am back in London, as much
lies before me. Inquiries have to be made, people inter-
viewed, camp equipment, etc., got together, a lengthy
correspondence on Moroccan matters kept up, and finally,
the proofs of ' Ulu ' corrected. It will be out in the be-
ginning of Easter, so, you see, I won't be here to witness
the joy of an impatient reading public on having this
wonderful work put into their hands. I have been nearly
run off my feet, and the number of farewell dinners that
have been given me has been sufficient to complete my
demoralisation, though it has been pleasant to find I was
so much thought of"
On the 9 th of March he left England for Tangiers.
For the first time in an expedition of exploration, he took
with him a European companion, in the person of
Lieutenant Harold Crichton-Browne, who was anxious for
once to get off the beaten tracks of travel under the
auspices of an experienced pioneer, and who gladly under-
took to share the expense.
On the evening of the 17th he arrived at Tangiers from
Gibraltar. He felt that he had suddenly been transported
202 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
from a scene suggestive of everything European to one
as thoroughly contrasted as though separated by a few
thousand miles. In Gibraltar there was everything to
remind him of British rule and British ways. A few
hours of troublous tossing on the uneasy waves of the
blue strait, and, lo, he is in the midst of the Orient !
This is how he describes, in a letter to Gilmour, his
approach to the scene of his new quest, : —
" The sun w^as nearing the horizon as we steamed into a
small bay. It was as if a pillar of fire hung over Tangiers
to hide it from our infidel sight ; for so dazzling was it
that nothing could be seen, strain as we might. Finally
we glided into the shadow of the low hill, and then, as
in a beautiful transformation scene, the town was revealed
to our longing eyes. While I looked and admired, before
I was aware the anchor was down, we were surrounded
by numerous boats propelled by Moor and 'nigger.' A
few more minutes, and we were on the beach beset by a
gesticulating crowd anxious to relieve us of our belongings.
Then I felt at home. With that expressive and awe-
inspiring wealth of language which never fails a Britisher,
I drove the picturesquely ragged crew to the four winds
of heaven. (Jur luggage was peered at by grave and
reverend Moors who sat cross-legged on the ground.
Then we ' processed ' through some narrow streets, our
feet falling softly on the wealth of offal which carpets the
ground. We stealthily peered into glorious gazelle-like
eyes, which peeped from behind veils held coijuettishly in
front of the face. As in a dream we passed on, feeling
everything delightfully Oriental. A few more steps, and
in a twinkling we were once more back in Europe — back
at least in a European hotel."
The sense of novelty naturally suggested sight-seeing.
As soon as dinner was finished, therefore, he and his
companion were off, a la Haroun Alraschid, with a native
guide bearing a lantern, to explore the quaint, sewage-
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS.
203
scented streets, and to get at least a glimpse of the night
life of the place. After so long a period of enforced
inaction the prospect of movement and adventure had an
electric effect upon his
spirits. He felt for the
moment like a schoolboy
let loose, and he had all
the schoolboy's unaffected
heartiness in the enjoyment
of his liberation.
AtTan^iershe had a longer
time to become acquainted
with ]\Ioorish city life than
he either bargained for or
desired. For, despite the
friendly exertions of the
energetic British Minister,
Sir Kirby Green, it was
full three weeks before the
necessary written permit
from tlie Sultan could be
obtained. The time of en-
forced delay was, of course,
not idly spent. In addition
to further exploration in
and around Tangiers, he
made a trip on horseback
to Tetuan, fifty miles off.
There he stayed two days
in a Jew's house, eating
imleavened bread — it being
Passover time. In liis re-
turn he had to make his
way in a terrific storm of rain, now fording swollen
streams, now floundering over quagmires and ditches,
anon climbing rocky hills, to reach Tangiers only after
twelve hours in the saddle. The result was a severe
AN ITINKUAM' ML'.-li IAN.
204 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
cold. But then he was feeling once more in his element,
and he was happy accordingly.
At last the Sultan's letter came. It was a disappoint-
ment. There was the anticipated diplomatic expression
of friendliness towards the enterprising protef/es of the
British Government. But the document, duly read be-
tween the lines, simply meant that the Sultan's faithful
kaids were to take good care to prevent the travellers
from visiting the very places they wanted to visit ; and
the soldier, who was sent under the name of an escort
and protector, was merely a messenger of his Shereefian
Highness to secure that the royal letter should not be
misread. There was nothing for it but to accept the
])ermit for use as far as it would prove helpful, and to
quietly register a secret resolve that by the help of
Providence and his own wits he would considerably widen
the programme.
On the otli of April he sailed for Casablanca en rovte
for Mogador, which was to be his real starting-point. In
the overland journey to the latter place the travellers
were accompanied only by the soldier guide and one
Moorish attendant. Their way carried them, at first,
through a long stretch of undulating country, treeless,
monotonous, and almost devoid of inhabitants. The one
striking feature in the otherwise uninteresting expanse
was the floral display ; but that in its brilliance and
variety was nothing less than marvellous.
A fifty miles' ride brought the party to Azamor, where
they camped in the open for the night, and enjoyed such
fragmentary snatches of sleep as were possible between
the howling onsets of a mob of ravenous and aggressive
dogs. The next hundred miles lay through a like feature-
less tract — the soil rich in possibilities, but practically
unexploited, owing to the blighting misgovernment under
which all Morocco languishes.
After resting a day at Saffi, where they obtained not
only warm hospitality, but valuable advice from ]\Ir.
OYER THE ATLAS MOUXTAIXS. 205
Hiinot, the British vice-consul, they pushed on over the
remaining distance to Mogador. Crossing the Eiver
Tensift, which was in flood, they entered a country more
broken and picturesque, but for the most part utterly
barren, owing to the adamantine calcareous crust under
which the soil is sealed up. The only relieving tone of
green was in the forest tracts of the oil-bearing Argan-
tree, which seems to be able to flourish under the most
disadvantageous conditions.
On the afternoon of the 17th, they came within sight
of Mogador. At the same time there leapt into view
the object towards which the thoughts of the leader had
been hopefully turning. For there, on the far horizon,
gleamed crystal-like, and sharply projected against the
sky, one of the snowy peaks of the Atlas. It was a
gage of promise, to appeal to his imagination and to lure
him on.
At Mogador he began to realise at close quarters some
of the difficulties whicli were to beset his enterprise.
Here it was that he must engage the necessary servants
and purchase horses, mules, etc. ; but it was only after a
most exasperating experience of delay and shuffling that
he found himself ready for the road. Such qualities as
haste or business promptitude were quite unknown in
the depressing, enervating atmosphere of the place — an
atmosphere in which the appropriate thing was to do
nothing. Despite the valuable assistance of the British
consul, it was almost impossible to get any matter
brought finally to the point of settlement. At last, how-
ever, he did get to the end of the negotiations, with the
result that he had a caravan secured of five men^ five
nmles, a camel, a donkey, and a horse.
On the oth of May he gladly left Mogador behind. He
did not, however, take, as might have lieen anticipated,
the direct road to the interior. His experienced eye had
already seen enough to arouse in him a suspicion of
trouble ahead with his men. He thought it well, there-
206 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
fore, to make a little preliminary test of the stuff lie liad
got in liand, and to measure himself as leader against the
possible elements of obstruction. For this purpose he
chose a circuitous route back to Saffi.
The revelations of that short journey were far from
encouraging. What could he hope to accomplish of a
task, hard and hazardous at the best, with such a party of
lazy, insolent, gluttonous liars about him ? The matter
could not be mended at this stage, but clearly, unless
some changes were made, there would be more than scope
for all his tact, and resource, and patience. How he
viewed the situation, and what was the ultimate issue of
it, are thus described by himself in a letter to Gilmour
written two months later from Morocco: —
'' I had not been two days on the march before I dis-
covered that the greatest danger to our eventual success
would be, not the mountaineers, nor even the opposition
of the government officials, but the half dozen men who
formed the jK^'sonncl of our small party. On first learning
what they were, and what they were capable of, a horrible
feeling of despair almost overwhelmed me. How, I asked
myself, could I ever become master of half-a-dozen men
all bound together .by common ties and interests, when
my sole means of communicating with them was one
of themselves ? And yet master of them, ay, and com-
plete master of them, it was absolutely necessary to
become before I could hope to penetrate a mile into the
mountains.
"The struggle that ensued, and which lasted for a
month, I shall not trouble you with. It has been one
of the most disgusting and painful experiences in my
rather varied life. Suffice it to say that they started
from Mogador in the belief that they had got a new
European greenhorn to plunder and make do as they
pleased, and they found a Tartar. I did succeed in
breaking their power, and in the end they were all
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 207
cruslied and brought completely under my thumb, though
up to date they never ceased trying to thwart, by every
means in their power, all my attempts to go to the
mountains — happily with but small result. And now I
have the happiness of sitting here in Morocco to look
back upon success as great as I dreamed of in England,
and to reflect that so far I have carried out the exact
programme which I sketched for myself before leaving."
But to revert to the course of events. On the journey
from Mogador there was an interesting interlude in the
ascent of the Iron Mountains (Jebel Hadid), and the
examination of the ancient iron workings there. These
were in the form of an enormous pit on the summit of
the ridge, from which ran an underground passage into
the very heart of the mountain. Two days were spent
in the exploration of the pit and passage, and in the
course of that exploration the leader's geological zeal led
him into some experiences which were more venturous
than comfortable. A spice of excitement was further
added to this same journey by the crossing of the flooded
Eiver Tensift, which was only accomplished after three
hours of perilous work.
Saffi was at last safely reached. There some slight
relief in the situation, as between leaders and followers,
was obtained. Two of the most objectionable of the
Mogador men were dismissed, and two new men obtained
by Mr. Hunot were substituted. There was thus secured
at least a division, and so far a weakening, of the obstruc-
tive forces. But the outlook was not promising. The
explorer could only cheer himself with the thought that
he had never yet failed to get command of his men, and
that if his record was to be broken down now, it would
only be after a few startling things had happened.
Thus, then, in a spirit of mingled misgiving and
resolution did he set his face towards the goal of his
desires. That goal was for the present a secret of his
208 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOKER.
own inner consciousness ; for well he knew that if it
were once understood that the Atlas was his objective, he
might reckon on faihire as a foregone conclusion.
It was on the 19th of May that he left Safd for the
interior. In the next few days' marching there was little
of interest or beauty to note in the landscape. For the
most part the country was treeless, and though the soil
was marvellously rich in character, it was hardly culti-
vated at all. The frequent ruinous droughts partly
account for this ; but without doubt the main cause is
the unspeakable system of misgovernment under which
the wretched inhabitants live. Ground down and plun-
dered mercilessly by the greedy haids, the poor people
have no heart for enterprise or industry. They are
sullenly content to live in the uttermost squalor, leaving
the land with all its vast possibilities to run to waste.
In his resolve to evade the Sultan's restrictions, and
get beyond the limits marked out for him, Joseph Thomson
thought it best to pass by the city of Morocco in tlie
meantime, and push straight on to Demnat. He might
propose, but his men, suspecting his intention, resolved to
dispose. Pretending to take the route he wished, they
simply led him by a difficult and circuitous path light
into the place he wished to avoid. It was an unpleasant
taste of their quality. But, though it irritated him ex-
ceedingly, it did not daunt him in his purpose to be
upsides with the ra.scals.
Accepting his preliminary defeat in silence he entered
the city, presented the Sultan's letter, and was received
with lavish professions of good will and hospitality. A
night's rest revived his liopefulness, and enabled him to
form fresh plans and resolutions. He was more deter-
mined than ever that he would see the Atlas at close
quarters before he should set his face homeward.
It certainly wanted all the sanguineness of his tem-
perament, however, to keep his hope from failing. The
difficulties were sufficient to disconcert any ordinary man.
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS.
209
and they seemed to grow at every step. How to keep his
men absolutely in the dark with regard to his intentions,
and yet obtain sufficient information as to the country
and the roads into the mountains, so as to render him
independent of their guidance, was a problem not to be
easily solved.
But happily, just when the solution seemed well nigh
JEWS OF THK AILA-
a thing to despair of, light began to dawn. His own
interpreter was utterly to be distrusted, but fortunately
lie fell in with a Gibraltarian named Bonich, who in the
most kindly way offered his services as interpreter during
his stay in the city. By this friend's timeous aid,
knowledge of the most valuable and practical sort was
acquired ; and in the prospect of getting the direction of
things into his own hand, the explorer's spirits rapidly rose.
21) JOSEPH THo^lSo^^ afuiCxIX explorer.
Still more relief and good fortune came to him in the
arrival of a mountain Jew from Saffi, accredited from
]\Ir. Hunot there, and warranted not only brave, faithful,
and intelligent, but quite an expert in his acf|uaintance
with the mountains and their inhabitants. This was
truly a godsend. To know that he had at least one
reliable man in his company was to feel that his mission
was not altogether a forlorn hope.
Four days were spent at this time in Morocco. Pre-
occupied as he was with matters pertaining to his farther
journey, he could only make a hasty survey of the city
and its life. But that was sufficient to dispel some
illusions. He describes his first impressions thus: —
" As we passed beneath the battlemented gateway
which gives entrance to the city we were full of bright
hopes and eager expectations. For were we not entering
a city with a history — a city which had been the theatre
of wars and sieges and the residence of sultans ? Its
very name threw a glamour over its yet unknown features,
and connected it with all the past glories of the empire.
" How different and disappointing was the realisation !
As we w^andered through street after street, and lane
after lane, enclosed by red clay-built walls, "we saw
much indeed of the ' havoc ' but little of the ' splendour '
of the East. Morocco was a city grown slattern, very
much out at the elbows, and utterly careless of its personal
appearance.
" It seemed incredible that the people who, at the very
dawn of their national life, reared such works as the
Alhambra, the aqueducts, bridges, and mosques, which
to this day remain the chief wonder of southern Spain,
are the same as those wlio are content in the present day
to live in shapeless, almost unornamented, clay-built
barracks, with no higher thoughts than the unlimited
indulgence of their sensual appetites.
"Throughout Morocco there is nothing more disappointing
FOUNTAIN IN MOROCCO.
p 2
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 213
to the traveller than the signs of the decadence of the
distinctive arts which in past times made the Moors
famous. One naturally expects to find all sorts of
beautiful and quaint objects, to see picturesque and
enduring buildings, and get glimpses of the most
delightfully fanciful interiors. That some such things
existed in early days is, every now and then, made
apparent as we wander through the town. But to know
that an object is beautiful, that it shows careful and
loving workmanship, and reflects the graceful fancy we
associate with things Moorish, is also to know that it is
old. In everything else we see there is evidenced a
frightful degeneracy in genuine workmanship and artistic
taste."
This was but another obvious result (added to the
many he had already observed in his progress through
the land) of the frightful misgovernment. How could
beauty continue to live in a city, or prosperity in a
country where security of property and common justice
were quite unknown ?
Meantime, however, he had no mind to linger for the
study of the city. He hoped his opportunity would
come afterwards ; and it did. His thoughts were on
that mountain range thirty miles away, which, as it
towered up in heaven-kissing magnificence, daily appealed
to his wondering gaze. " Before us," he says, " loomed
the majestic front of the Atlas. Our eyes roamed from
its dark bush and forest-clad base over its lower ranges
to the snowy masses which broke through a zone of grey
cloud and, above it, gleamed in dazzling whiteness against
the deep blue sky. Seen from our distant coign of
vantage, the Atlas had an air of dominating and im-
pressive grandeur." To look upon that wondrous sight,
and to think of all the mystery that brooded over its peaks
and glens and gorges, was to have his curiosity whetted
to intense eagerness,
214 JOSEPH THO^ISON, AFEICAN EXPLOKER.
But prompt action was necessary if he was to avoi'l
defeat, for every hour spent in the city increased the
risk of obstacles being thrown in his way. His fear in
entering the city was tliat there, under the pretence of
seconding the Sultan's professed anxiety for his safety,
more soldiers might be attached to Ids party to watch
and checkmate his movements. To prevent this he
suddenly, to the surprise and chagrin of his men, took
French leave of the place on the 27th. Pushing on
ra]:)idly past Sidi liehal, at the base of the mountains,
he rested not until he reached Demnat, which place he
proposed to make his headquarters in his preliminary
essays at mountaineering, working gradually westward
along the range. He had now obtained information as
to the various routes, and could act without consulting
his men, as one having authority, who knew where he
was goinn; and what he meant to do.
At Demnat he was, for the first time in his trip, on
unexplored ground. The town itself he found to be
delightfully situated in the centre of a valley lovely
beyond description. Enthroned on a projecting spur of
the Atlas, and cooled by pleasant breezes from the
mountains, the town overlooks a landscape possessed
of almost every conceivable charm. Here, then, he
plunged into the real work which he had come to do.
For that work the way was unexpectedly smoothed at
the outset by a cheering piece of good fortune. This
was the discovery of a Jew of Demnat, David Assor by
name, who had once lived in London, and who spoke
exceedingly good English. As he was willing to accept
the post of interpreter, he was at once gladly engaged,
and his services proved simply invaluable. For tiie
first time the explorer had the joy of feeling independent
of his treacherous followers.
The story of the labours and perils which Joseph
Thomson encountered in the course of the subsequent
weeks can only be briefly outlined here. The natural
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 215
difficulties to be faced were enormous, and tried to the
full his hardihood and physical strength, But these had
to be overcome in defiance of dogged official obstruction,
and despite the never-failing knavery of his men, tlie
fanaticism of the inhabitants, and the risk of death itself
which hovered about him everywhere. It was a hard-
earned pleasure that his triumph brought ; but he had
his triumphs, and they were to him a sufficient recompense.
Before he closed his exploration the central crest of the
great range had been reached at seven independent points,
the heights attained exceeding those of any previous
travellers by as much as two thousand feet ; several
new glens had been examined, six passes crossed, and
the general configuration of the Western Atlas finally
fixed.
From Demnat he made two interesting excursions
across the secondary heights of the great range. In the
first of these he discovered at Iminifiri a very extra-
ordinary phenomenon — an arch of rock springing at a
height of over one hundred feet from one side of a
mountain gorge to the other, and serving the purpose
not only of a bridge but an aqueduct. In the second,
despite the resistance of his soldier guide, he scaled a
peak six thousand feet high, from which he commanded
a view which he felt to be nothing less than enthralling
in its impressiveness.
His first grand coui) was the crossing of the main axis
to Teluet. Coming westward for this purpose to Sidi
IJehal, he managed by a clever ruse to throw his men
off their guard and to enlist the services of the local sheik
by telling him that he was the bearer of a letter from the
Sultan to his chief the Kaid of Glauwa.
Striking the glen of the Wad Gadat and toiling np a
path of the most rugged and dangerous description — now
winding along the verge of a dizzy precipice, now passing
through some deep ravine or awesome gorge — he reached,
at the close of the first day, the very heart of the Atlas
216 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
Eange, and there he camped in a scene of unspeakable
desolation. Eesuming next day the trying task, he
crossed the pass at a height of over eight thousand feet,
with the mountains towering up two thousand feet higher
on either side.
At Teluet the party were most hospitably entertained
for ten days by the Kaid of Glauwa. But they were
soon made to feel that they were under the strictest
supervision. It was only with the greatest difficulty
that excursions could be made. One morning, when
Thomson slipped out with only one attendant, he was
nearly shot by armed mountaineers. The ascent of
Jebel Taurirt, 11,168 feet high, was the principal achieve-
ment of his stay here.
Finding to his gre\t chagrin that the exploration of the
southern aspect of the chain from this point was rendered
impossible by the revolt cf the tribes and by the stern
resistance of the Kaid, he resolved to return by the same
pass to the north side. In one or two forced marches he
reached Amsmiz, from which he propos<^d to make a new
attempt on the mountain fastnesses. Here again fortune
iavourtd him. The Go\'ernor was away, and the same
tactics were used with liis lieutenant which had been so
successful at Sidi Eehal, the happy result being that a
guide was supplied without question to lead him to the
Kaid of Gindafy on the other side.
It was at the outset of this trip that he had one of the
most extraordinary sights of snake-charming ever recorded.
Meeting a follower of Sidi Aissa (one of the most revered
saints of Morocco) he invited him to give his performance.
Moslem scorn was great, but Christian silver had its
power too. The fanatic cursed the tempter, but could not
resist the lure. Taking a snake from liis basket which
he carried he began his incantations. With glaring eye
he .slowly fascinated the reptile, his own excitement
gradually rising. Suddenly the spectators were horrified
to see him bite off the snake's head and chew it as a sweet
OVER THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS.
217
morsel. Presently their disgust was succeeded by alarm,
as he rolled on the ground in agonised convulsions which
seemed to bring him to the point of death. But the alarm
was changed to astonishment when, an hour after, the
charmer sat up and began lifting pieces of burning char-
coal between his fingers from the fire, blowing them to a
white heat and popping them into his mouth to chew and
swallow them at his leisure. He repeated this several
times as if he quite enjoyed it, and as if it were the most
AUjVE a he Cl.dUKS, atlas MOLNTAINS.
natural thing in the world to eat his dinner raw and then
send after it the fire that was to cook it.
Following the Wad Amsmiz to its source, they once
more began the arduous ascent of the main axis. It was
no holiday work this scaling of the terrible mountain
path, for it was the most dangerous yet attempted. But
despite many anxieties and a few thrillingly narrow
escapes, the pass of Nemiri was at last safely surmounted
at a height of about ten thousand feet. A descent of
218 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEEE.
five tliousaiid feet brought the toil-woru party to the
Kasbah or Castle of Gindafy.
At Gindafy he was by no means so hospitably treated
as at Glauwa. In the days which he spent there he was
only able to make one trip, namely, to the caiion of the
Wad Agandice. This gorge he found to be of a remark-
ably imposing character — the crystalline limestones and
sandstones rising with savage ruggedness on either side in
a series of beetling cliffs, and leading up to jagged peaks
and table-topped rocks four thousand feet overhead.
At Gindafy his companion was unfortunate enough to
be badly bitten by a scorpion, and had to leave the place
in an invalided condition, A return to Amsmiz was
made by the pass, Tizi-n-Gerint, 7215 feet high.
From Amsmiz, where Crichton-Browne had to be left
to recruit, another dash was made upon the central range
through the glen Asif-el-Mel. The objective in this case
was Jebel Ogdimt. The climax both of peril and physical
exertion was reached in this attempt. It was made in
defiance of the Kaid, and in spite of the protests of the
soldier guide and the alarmed machinations of his attend-
ants. Finally, the ascent developed into a race for life, in
which it was no small marvel that he escaped unhurt
amid the bullets of the pursuuig natives. Gradually
dropping his assailants, however, scaling difficulty after
difficulty, and passing through the zone of clouds itself, so
that he could look athwart their upper surface as upon a
vast white sea in which the mountain peaks shot up as
islands, he at last stood upon the sky-piercing summit
exhausted but triumphant. When he recovered suffi-
ciently to take his observations, he found that he liad
attained a height of no less than 12,734 feet, and had out-
done all previous records by at least 1500 feet.
This peak, however, was not the highest to be climbed,
and he was eager to outdo his own feat. But meantime,
his mountaineering was broken in upon by his finding it
necessary to visit the city of Morocco,
OVER 'i'lIE ATLAS MOUNTAlK^.
219
This interlude, which he intended to be brief, extended
from one cause and another to six weeks. The time did
not hang heavily on his hands. He used his opportunities
to the full for a study of Moorish social and political life,
and for obtaining a closer acquaintance with the city and
its ways. It need not be said that he refused to content
himself with the sights open to the ordinary visitor. The
spice of danger involved in visiting various out-of-the-way
places was an attraction rather than a deterrent, and not
a few spots were boldly ventured into which were supposed
to be absolutely sacred to the tread of the faithful. Of
A MOurilsH AUmtNCE.
course, such adventures had necessarily to be made in
Moorish dress. Without such a disguise, liis sight seeing,
so far as the inner life of the people was concerned, W'Ould
have been limited in the extreme.
In this way he made acquaintance with the interiors of
some of the mosques. Thus also he visited the hammum,
or bath, from whose holy precincts such as he were
strictly debarred. There, in a loathsome cellar heated
up to 150°, and through which ran an open sewer emitting
the vilest of vile smells, he was baked and kneaded in the
most vigorous Turkish fashion, and thereafter solaced with
220 JOSEPH^ THOMSON, AFRICAN EXrLOEER.
the siglit of a set of dancing girls going through their
Terpsichorean entertainment — a set of vertical rhythmical
movements very much like stamping on a hot plate, and
decidedly more vigorous than graceful. He even managed,
by dint of diplomacy, to find a way of visiting a harem,
and of seeing for himself the interior arrangements of one
of the households of the faithful — the proprietor himself
being, despite all social rules, the obliging introducer
of the "Christian dog" to take note of his domestic
amenities.
He did not, however, leave the city without a charac-
teristic illustration of the measure it prefers to mete out
to the hated Nazarene. Both he and his companions, in
fact, came perilously near being done to death.
It was on the occasion of the Aid-el-Kebir or Great
Feast, which marks the close of the ceremonies connected
with the pilgrimage to Mecca — a time when the faithful
hold high holiday and when their zeal is at fever
heat. After witnessing the remarkable ceremonies in
connection with the religious celebration of the day, they
were setting forth to the Powder Play which crowns the
day's proceedings, when it became unpleasantly manifest
that they were the subject of hostile attention, and that it
wanted but a spark to kindle a blaze of fury about them.
That spark was supplied by the impulsive act of their hot-
blooded young interpreter, in rashly resenting with a blow
insulting words levelled at him. Instantly the passion
and fanaticism of the mob overleapt all restraint. Murder
was in every eye, and the little party had to fight for dear
life. It seemed as if they must be hopelessly over-
whelmed. But, letting out the huge lash of his hunting
crop and throwing all his force into one blow, he swung
it round furiously in the faces of the assailants. Por a
moment they fell back with howls of pain and rage.
Now, however, he was the centre of attention, and the cry
was, " Stone the Christian dog ! " From every quarter the
missiles came hurtling. In a minute lie was black and blue
OVER TIIK Al'LAS MOUNTAINS. 221
With the stunning l)hvvvs, though liappily his skull remainetl
untouched. It seemed as if any moment might end matters
with him ; and so doubtless it would, had not tlie other
two bravely set themselves to create a diversion in his
favour, and given him a chance of slipping into a cafe.
Before the crowd could break in the door the sharp clatter
of hoofs told that a company of cavalry had been sent to
the rescue. They had come not a moment too soon. If
they had delayed only a little longer, Joseph Thomson's
Morocco visit would have ended in a tragedy.
Eesuming his mountaineering programme after this
interval of varied interest and excitement, and going back
to a more easterly point than Jebel Ogdimt in the
selection of his new object of attack, he began with an
attempt to penetrate the glen Urika, his aim being to
scale the prominent peak of Jebel Asif Ig. In this he
was completely foiled by a large party of mountaineers.
As it would have been madness to attempt, even with the
help of the Kaid's escort, to force their way through, in face
of the determined resistance of fully armed men en-
trenched behind rocks and thickets, he had to swallow
his disappointment as best he might and return to
the plain.
He had his consolation, however, in the complete
success of his next venture. Proceeding by way of the
glen Reraya, the most striking in its frowning desolation
of all the valleys they had as yet penetrated, he was able
to achieve no less a feat than the ascent of the mighty
Tizi Likumpt. The toil was of course tremendous, but tlie
result was a full compensation for it all. Standing finally
at an altitude of 13,150 feet among wreaths of snow, he
gazed upon a scene of indescribable sublimity, " a be-
wildering, awe-inspiring assemblage of snow-streaked
elevations, sharp jagged ridges, and deep glens and
gorges," while to the westward there shot up to a height
2000 feet above his lofty standpoint the rugged peak of
Tizi-n-Tamjurt, the king among these mountain Titans.
222 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
For a second time he had thus broken the record of
mountaineering in the AtLas.
One more crossing of the range remained for him to
accomplish, namely from Imintanut into the dreaded
country of Sus. In this also he succeeded, although amid
circumstances of the most trying sort, for his men were in
terror at the very idea of the trip, and owing to a quarrel
that had broken out among the tribes, bloodshed and
robbery were rampant everywhere.
And so concluded his mountaineering exploits in this
noble range. He had by means of them added largely to
both geographical and geological science, and, so far, he
could look back upon them with a measure of satisfaction
as not unworthy of his past. But the accompaniment of
ceaseless worries with his men had been a soul-sickening
experience, and he was glad now to hasten to the coast
that he might free himself from the intolerable incubus.
He hoped with a new set of followers to start again at
Fez and explore a more easterly section of the range.
That plan, liowever, was unexpectedly cut short by a call
to another undertaking which gave promise of being very
much more to his mind.
So far as the country and the people of Morocco were
concerned, the observations of the past months had been
in all respects a saddening revelation to him. Every
hopeful anticipation which he had permitted himself to
entertain had one by one vanished. Socially, politically,
and religiously tlie country was found to be everywhere
in the most pitiful case.
Eeference has already been incidentally made to the
hateful misgovernment under which a few human leeches
suck the life-blood of the nation and make enterprise
impossible. Oppression in every conceivable form is
rampant. Between the official class who grind him down
and ihe money-lending Jews who, like flies upon sores,
batten on his distress, the ]\Ioor in his own country has
not the life of a do"'.
OVER THK ATI.AS MOUNTAINS. 225
It is but the natural complement of this, that the
physical life of the people should be lived amid the
unhealthiest and fdthiest conditions. If the Moor ever
was " heart clean " with respect to his domestic surround-
ings^ adversity and the experience of hopeless injustice
have driven common sensitiveness out of him. The
pestiferous abominations that are tolerated alike in town
and country, never to speak of such unimaginable dung-
hills as the Mdlalis or Jews' quarters in Morocco and
Mogador, are significant marks of a nation having lost
self-respect. Even where the Moor does betray some
vague hankering after sanitation, his ideas take shape
after such a perverted fashion as to emphasise his demora-
lised condition. For instance, at Mogador he has gone in
for a sewage system ; but in how strange a style ! The
primitive system, under which garbage and filth were
deodorised in the open air and borne out of sight by the
ubiquitous canine scavenger, would be infinitely prefer-
able ; for here he has simply got the length of cutting open
drains in the middle of the street, into which every
festering and evil-smelling thing is thrown, until at
certain seasons the place becomes a deadly focus of
pestilential influence.
But the ignorant and savacje fanaticism which univer-
sally reigns, makes it hard to extend to the Moor a simple
pity. The explorer found him everywhere somewhat of
a dangerous animal, only restrained from furious demon-
strations against such " Christian dogs " as himself and his
coHipanion through fear of consequences. Indeed, not
even that availed to shield them from harm, as their
experience in the city of Morocco proved, and if the like
violence was not offered to them elsewhere, tliey had
unpleasant enough evidence that it was not for lack of
the will to hurt. Everywhere they had to run the
gauntlet of scowls and curses.
As an object-lesson on the effect of Islam, the religious
condition of the people was a salutary if unwelcome piece
226 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
of education, and Joseph Thomson, with his habitual
candour and honesty, was not slow to note the lesson
and to proclaim it.
" If in the Sudan," he says, " we found Mohammedanism
instilling a new life and vigour into barbarous races and
setting them on the road to spiritual, moral, and material
advancement, in Morocco we found it doing quite tlie
reverse. Here it was preventing all advancement, sup-
pressing all higher and nobler impulses w^hich happen to
be alien to its spirit, cutting off 'the believer' from all
outside genial influences, and acting as a blight upon his
whole nature. Superficially it presented a fair and seemly
spectacle — unquenchable faitb, scrupulous attention to
ceremonial duties, and most absolute submission to the
will of Allah — but underneath all was maggots and
rottenness ... It was difficult to grasp the fact which
had been gradually boring its way into our minds with
growing knowledge of ]\Ioorish life, that absolutely the
most religious nation on the face of the earth was also the
most grossly immoral. Among no people are prayers so
commonly heard, or religious duties more rigidly attended
to. Yet, side by side with it all, rapine and murder,
mendacity of the most advanced type, and brutish and
unnatural vices exist to an extraordinary degree. . . .
" The very force which made the empire great in
the world has now, in its corrupt and degraded form,
become the agent which will prove the em])ire's destruc-
tion. . . . Chiefly through its influence Morocco has
become a noxious backwater cut off from the healthy
current of advancing civilisation, and there it develops
its poisonous germs and collects its rotting pestiferous
w^eeds."
In view of this moribund state of religion, and the utter
paralysis of moral force among the people, he felt driven
resistlessly to the conclusion that there is no hope for
OVER TPIE ATLAS MOUNTAI^^S. 227
Morocco save in the applicatioa of the strong hand and
drastic measures from without. " To talk of reforms
is to talk to the idle winds. . . . Morocco must either
become absolutely a European province, or be placed
like Tunis under the protection of a Christian government
surticiently powerful to compel reform % not merely to
urixe them."
Q2
'/28 JOSEini THO^ISON, AFRlCA^^ E^PLonEr..
CHAPTER X.
MORE BOOK-WOEK.
In the end of October, 1888, Joseph Tliomson was once
more in London, having, as ah-eady indicated, abruptly
cut short his progrannne of operations in tlie Atlas. Tlie
occasion of his sudden change of plan was the receipt
of communications from the East Africa Company in-
dicating that there was an opening for him in the scene
of his former labours, and that they wished to engage
him for a term of two years.
The precise object in view was not stated ; but naturally
his mind at once leapt to Emin Pasha, and to the fact
that, so far as was known, he was yet unrelieved. A year
and a half agone Stanley had vanished into the unknown,
and absolute silence rested upon his movements. Not a
word of news lightened the mastery of whether he was
alive or dead. The only echoes from the ill-starred ex-
pedition were those terrible stories of The Eearguard
Camp, which came to haunt as a nightmare the philan-
thropic public, and to shake the simple-minded confidence
with which they had relied upon the scheme of so-called
relief.
Could this new "opening" mean the adoption of his
plan for reaching Emin through Masai-land ? Could it
be the tardy response to his letter in The Times (May 13,
1887) in which he had urged the development of the
East Coast route to the Equatorial Provinces ? There
MORE BOOK-WOriK. 229
seemed but one answer possible to these questions.
With a rush all the old interest in the Emin Expedition
again took possession of him. Promptly he answered the
call in person, glad in a sense to leave Morocco behind.
His surmise as to the purpose of the Committee was
quite correct. Eor liis acceptance of the leadership of
such an expedition terms were very easily arranged.
The fact of his original contention being thus endorsed,
even at the eleventh hour, was in itself almost a sufficient
compensation, especially as he had received a very signifi-
cant confirmation of his former doubt with regard to the
hona fides of the Congo Expedition. Shortly after his
meeting with those who had called him home, he writes
to Gilmour : —
" You are probably aware that I am back from ^Morocco
to take an expedition through Masai-laud to Emin, which
shows that all things come to those who can wait. . . .
What a pity those letters I wrote in Paris did not appear.
Everything I said then proves to be true. De Wiuton
kindly told me that Stanley had taken the Congo route
by command of the King of the Belgians and in the
interests of the Congo State !
" By-the-bye here is a,n interesting piece of news. Cap-
tain E. C. Hore, of the London ^Missionary Society, has
just returned from Tanganyika after seven years' residence
there. On his M^ay to Zanzibar, accompanied by his wife
and child, he was never molested or insulted by the Arabs
or natives, who all expressed the greatest friendliness to
the English, but an undying hatred of, and a determina-
tion to fight the Germans. This state of things our
Government seems bent on upsetting in the interests of
a German trading company.
His delightful anticipation of going upon his new
mission of rescue was unhap})ily, however, destined not to
be realised. Notwithstanding that lie had made a great
personal sacrifice in cutting short his work in Morocco
230 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREK.
and accepted the Company's proposal, in full reliance
upon their honour, the arrangement very soon began to
hang fire. A change was apparently coming over the
spirit of their dream. After a brief period of hesitation,
there was a complete rolte face, and the enterprise was
practically dropped.
The reason \'ouchsafed was that, owing to the German
attempt at colonising in East Africa, the wdiole of that
part of the continent had been thrown into a state of
excitement and opposition to white men, and that the
directors objected to risking his life there.
It is needless to say that the explorer's disappoint-
ment was very great. The excuse as to the risk he
thought quite hollow ; and in view of the sacrifice he had
made and the trust he had reposed, he felt that he was
not being honourably dealt wdth. He had been wantonly,
as he thouoht, led on a fool's errand, and he was indignant
accordingly. In a letter to Mr. McKie (December 2)
he says : " The Company in any case have treated me
scandalously, and with an infamous want of considera-
tion." This resentment was not diminished by the
measure of compensation offered to him. Ultimately,
however, " the hatchet was buried " by the acceptance of
terms, and so ended the one disagreeable experience he
had with any public body.
In the meantime he was being occupied about other
matters also, which helped to withdraw his mind from
these worries. The writing of an article for Good Words,
and the preparation of his Morocco paper and map for
the Eoyal Geographical Society, gave him at once an
occupation and a welcome anodyne. This paper was
read to the Society in December with the usual pleasant
accompaniments to which he had become happily ac-
customed in that quarter.
For once he was again able to take part in the much
prized family gathering under the paternal roof, with
which the new year was invariably opened, and from
^rORE BOOK-WORK. 231
which he had perforce to be so often absent. He counted
this a great privilege ; for, wander where he might, his
heart was ever warm to the memories and ways of the
home circle.
In the January number of the Contemporary Recicio
appeared his article on " East Africa as it was and is."
It was an impassioned indictment of the Government of
the day for the base and blundering policy (as he con-
sidered it) which had been followed, and which had not
only sacrificed the rights and the influence of Great
Britain in East Africa, but betrayed the cause of civilisa-
tion in that region. He had been watching the course
of events and the evolution of international competition
there with a deeply interested mind; for the country
so closely identified with his own past career was,
in a manner, an object of affectionate concern to him.
Crradually, as the time went on and the unhappy trend
of affairs became more evident, his misgiving had deepened
into disgust, and he felt that he must speak out in protest
against the dishonourable entanglements into which the
country was allowing itself to be dragged.
He had formerly spoken out — too vigorously as some
thought — in deprecation of the carefully nursed delusion
that East Africa was an unexploited mine of wealth, being
sure that such an idea was likely to be hurtful to the
interests of East Africa itself. But events had afforded
a justification of his fears more emphatic than even he had
anticipated. In the years preceding 1883, Britain had
been able in a quiet way to do great things for that land.
Under the wise educating and guiding policy of Sir John
Kirk at Zanzibar, the slave trade had largely disappeared.
Our Indian subjects with their industrious ways and keen
trading instincts had been encouraged to settle in large
numbers, to the benefit of all concerned. Commerce in
a natural and healthy way had been fostered. And above
all, our missionaries, at the cost of immense sacrifice, had
begun to breathe a new life through the whole region.
2?y-2 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXnORER.
They Lad made the name of Englishman revered and
admired througliont the length and breadth of East
Central Africa. They had roused unbounded confidence
in his word and his good intentions. All this time
Germany had been doing absolutely nothing for the
country, and the extent of her influence and interest was
represented by a single trading house which acted as an
intermediary between Europe and the British Indian
merchants at Zanzibar.
"But in 1884 all this began to change. In that year
the preposterous views expressed by various travellers
about the commercial possibilities of Africa began to
find general credence. Tickled by such iionsense as that
in Africa the world had ' a new El Dorado,' and ' a
second India,' and that its proposed railways were to be
the finest paying commercial speculations in this century
to a world athirst for wealth, the nations of Europe
pricked up their ears, and then commenced the scramUe
for Africa. Innocent chiefs were defrauded out of their
lands by bogus treaties. An innocent and ignorant
people at home were found ready at the beck of glib
company promoters to put their money into all sorts of
schemes.
" In this general gilding up. East Africa came in for
a share, and soon there was nothing heard of but treaty
making and planting of flags. To back these enterprises
up, companies were promoted in Germany. The sovereign
rights of the Sultan of Zanzibar were violated in the most
shameless fashion. He was treated as a barbarous chief,
and as an obstacle to civilising influences."
In those days history was rapidly made. The Sultan's
resentment, the appearance of Germany's threatening
ironclads, the unblushing violation of international law
and equity, the appointment of a commission to delimit
the Sultan's territories, his trust in Britain as his repre-
MORE BOOK- WORK. 233
sentative, and our betrayal of him, and, finally, his
untimely death as a man despoiled of his rights, folloM^ed
each other in rapid succession. Then came still more
unfortunate entanglements for tliis country ; and now,
what was the situation we had to contemplate in East
Africa ? This :—
" Some thousands of British subjects have been ruined
and driven from their homes, without hope of redress.
All our interests have been handed over to Germany.
After spending much money and many noble lives, the
work of our missionary societies has been ruined. We
liave agreed to make our anti-slavery policy subservient
to the colonising schemes of Germany, to the detriment of
the good cause and of our country's best interests. The
country has been thrown back into a worse condition than
that of twenty years before. European travellers, however
well armed and protected, cannot now go where formerly
a solitary individual, armed only with an umbrella, could
pass with safety."
His fear was, that things would get into a still more
deplorable position, in which the exigencies of an unfor-
tunate policy would further imperil the honour and
interests ot this country. Hence this outspoken article.
He hardly expected that his protest would be treated
by the Government as other than a Cassandra cry ; but
he had at least relieved his own conscience in calling
attention to the facts of the situation.
The preparation of his book on the Morocco journey
now absorbed his entire attention. He made fairly rapid
progress with the work ; but, whether it Nvas owing to a
more fastidious criticism of his own composition, or to
some other reason, he had more than the usual sense of
toil in it, and less of that conscious fluency and freedom
which were characteristic of him — although no one would
suspect this from the actual style of tlie book itself. In
284 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXnOREE.
February he writes from Edinburgli, where he had settled
down for the piir])Oses of his literary work : —
" I liave had a fairly lively time of it in the evenings,
though during the day I have been writing like a slave.
I have not got half so easily on with this book as with
my previous ones. There seems to be no inspiration in
it, or in myself, to hurry me on. The book is promised
for the end of March, and it is only half written. I
think, however, it will take when it does come out, . . .
I must confess I am getting restlessly eager to be off to
Africa, though I must now anchor here till my book
is out."
Perhaps this closing confession may, to some extent,
throw light upon his sense of drudgery. He had the
fever of Africa in his veins. He was ever dreaming of
active service, and longing for new outlets for his exploring
enthusiasm.
The monotony of bo ok- writing was pleasantly broken
by other engagements of a public sort. In the end of
February he lectured on his explorations in the Atlas
before the Scottish Geographical Society in Edinburgh
and Glasgow ; and, on the 7th of March, a still more
agreeable task awaited him.
The unveiling of a bust of Livingstone in the Wallace
INIonument at Stirling was fixed for that date. The donor
of the bust was Provost Donald, Dunfermline. Mrs.
A. L. Bruce, Dr. Livingstone's daughter, performed tlie
formal ceremony, and Joseph Thomson, as a Scottisli
explorer and an avowed follower of the great missionary
philanthropist, had the duty assigned to him of pro-
nouncing the oration whicli the circumstances called for.
No duty could have been reckoned by him more honour-
able. He had a sincere enthusiasm for his subject, and
therefore spoke out of a full heart, as befitted the occasion.
As there was an element of self-revelation in the speech,
MORE BOOK-WORK. 235
it will not seem out of place that we should quote the
closing part of it : —
" After all, it is not so much what one does of himself
which specially distinguishes the great man. It is rather
that stimulating and living force which goes out of him
and becomes imparted to others — firing them to follow in
his path, and stimulating them to better deeds and nobler
lives. There can be no real greatness for the man who
does not possess this quality ; without it, however largely
he may bulk in the public view, he is but a meteor
blazing across our horizon — one moment dazzling all, the
next nowhere. Applying this criterion of real greatness
to Livingstone, we find at once how prominent he stands
before us. As missionary, traveller, and philanthropist,
he has done great, nay, herculean deeds ; but as a trans-
mitter of the spirit which burned within him he has
done, through others, infinitely more. He was one great
living accumulator of force, which he could not possibly
expend himself. He was full of the electric currents
which tend towards self-immolation for the good of
others, to deeds of high Christian emprise, to every-
thins that is ^reat and noble. No one could come in
contact with him without feeling a stimulating shock.
Hence the enormous influence for good he has had upon
our times — an influence which, however paradoxical it
may seem, grows with time and in proportion as it is
spent.
" Livingstone was great as a missionary, but the work
he performed is small compared with that accomplished
by those he imbued with his spirit. To what part of
Africa can you turn without seeing his influence in
missionary enterprise ? To him you trace directly the
foundation of the Universities Mission in East Africa, and
the Scotch one on Nyassa. Indirectly, he led to the
establishment of the various missions on Victoria Nyanza,
Tanganyika, and the Congo. It is the charm, too, of his
236 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
life and work which still largely stimulates and fires new
men to go forth to carry on the holy war and fill up, with
undaunted courage and self-immolation, the ranks of the
fallen.
" As an explorer his influence is as marked. No single
traveller ever did so much for the opening up of Africa
as Livingstone, yet the accumulated work of those he
brought into existence bulks more largely in view. If
there had been no Livingstone, should we ever have heard
of Stanley or Cameron, and a host of minor travellers who
have done something in the exploration of Africa ? In
this respect I can speak feelingly, for I am one of the
band. It was the boyish desire to emulate his deeds that
undoubtedly led me to the Dark Continent and made me
what I am.
" Single-handed, Livingstone could do nothing to sup-
press the slave traffic, but none the less he it was who
sounded its death knell. He laid bare its horrible
character, and infused men's minds with his horror of
it till its destruction was decreed. Years have passed
since Livingstone preached the anti-slavery crusade, and
it might be supposed that but little had been done to
accomplish this great end. In reality, there has been
much. Christian Europe is gradually arranging its forces
and taking up positions to grapple with the hydra-headed
beast; and before the century closes we may hope that
the appalling horrors of the slave route will he things of
the past. Would that w^e could say there will not be a
slave or slave-owner left ; but that is more than can be
expected.
" It is not, however, in Africa only that Livingstone has
left the benign impress of his moral greatness. That
such a man has lived at all is a distinct and precious
gain to the civilised community and humanity at large.
The mental and moral forces which he so strikingly
displayed have contributed largely to the upraising of
our own leveL Circumstances have only permitted the
MORR BOOlv-WOr.K. 237
i'ew to emulate his deeds, but tliousands upon thousands
have thought the liigher of their kind, and have profited
in unthought-of ways. Every warm glow of feeling which
a knowledge of his work has evoked has been so much to
the good of the person touched. Every wish, though un-
fulfilled, to follow in his footsteps is a stepping-stone to a
higher and more unselfish life. . . .
" Among the sordid cares which envelop us, and the
soul-deadening pursuits, which threaten to engross our
every thought, we have each year more and more need
of a Livingstone to break in upon us and remind us of a
higher and nobler life. Livingstone is no longer with us
in body, but his spirit lives in an undying force, ever
vivifying our hearts and minds with ennobling influences.
This bust will have failed of its true function if it im-
parts not to all who look upon it some of that spirit.
We stand in a monument to Wallace, the true type of a
country's patriot and choicest hero ; but before yoii is the
bust of an even higher type of hero, one who drew no dis-
tinction of country or race, who fought not for self, or
home, or fatherland, but for Christ and the all-embracing
brotlierhood of men."
Resuming work upon his book he plodded away
steadily. By the end of Marcli he could report that his
writing was nearly finished, althougli he had also to add
that he was " heartily sick of it." Eortunately, the habit
which he maintained in his exploring career of recording
all impressions and incidents day by day, while the
memory of them was fresh and vivid, formed an excellent
guarantee against dulness, even though in the putting
together of the materials he had the irksome sense of
being " like a writing machine." As a matter of fact
there is none of his narratives of travel more racy ; none
which bears upon it more of the impress of reality, giving
the reader the sense of seeing and sharing all the humours
and excitements of the expedition.
238 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
The volume, dedicated to his " very dear friends Dr.
and Mrs. Calder," was published in May, and was at once
accorded a hearty welcome — the critics vieing with each
other in saying kind things of it. " Thomson," wrote
one, " is the ideal of the geographer and explorer. Little
tit-bits of infurmation are served up with quaint humour.
The scientific diversions in his chapters take the shape of
joking lectures to his travelling companion Mr. Crichton-
Browne, and never bore. The realistic truth and satiric
comment are delightfully varied, buoying up the immense
mass of material contained in this concise and handy
volume."
While seeing this \vork through the press he visited
Manchester, and on the 9th of April lectured to the
Geographical Society there, his subject being " Some
Impressions of Morocco and the Moors."
The completion of the book and release from the strain
was followed, as in a previous case, by a sharp reaction.
Writing on the l-fth of May lie says : " I have been in
the depths and swimming hopelessly in the floods of Styx,
eager not to be just yet cast on the shores of Hades."
" After that," he adds, " you will wonder to hear that
I have been tickling the ears of bishops at Lambeth
Palace, telling them their duty in certain matters — to
receive the encomiums of the archbishop, who presided,
on my Christian sentiments. You see you have mucli
to learn about me ! And what wonder, when I am only
beginning to get some clue to the solution of my own
character ? I am devoured for the time with a tliirst
to know myself, though, so far as my investigations ha^■e
proceeded, I am not flattered with the result."
The summer of this year he spent at home, doing his
best, by a course of reading and an occasional spurt of
pedestrianism, to stave off his insatiable thirst for action.
At one time during this summer lie seems to have had
some prospect of being sent out on a mission to Damara-
MORE BOOIv-WOEK. 239
land. ISTotliing came of it, however, and he must needs
endeavour to possess his soul in patience a little longer.
His study of African affairs was keen and constant ;
but in those days there was little pleasure and much
vexation to be got from it. "I can do nothing but rage
over the turn events are taking in Africa," he confesses
to one of his correspondents. And little wonder that he
should have been so moved ; for then it was that news
began to reach this country of Dr. Peters' filibustering
expedition through Masai-land and Kavirondo, with its
record of deliberate robbery, violence, and bloodshed.
Trom his point of view indeed almost everything seemed
to be going wrong in East Africa. The " scramble " for
territory there was proceeding apace, with consequences
most disappointing for the interests both of Africa and
of this country.
Joseph Thomson sincerely believed — and not on patriotic
grounds alone — that Great l>ritain had a mission to fulfil
towards the Dark Continent in securing the well-being
of its peoples and developing its resources, a mission
which no other nation could discharge. Naturally, theie-
fore, he was anxious to see this country alive to the
necessity of widening its influence there, and ready to
recognise its responsibilities wherever it had a sure
footing. For this, however, he looked in vain. While
sucli countries as Germany and France were eageily
pushing to the forefront in African affairs, and with
purely selfish objects, Britain was contenting lierself
with philanthropic professions to the neglect of ob^■ious
calls for energetic action, and with slee})y ({uiescence
letting the shameful game of " grab " go on.
Facts like those chafed and vexed him ; and, as the
march of history made matters more urgent, his anxiety
deepened into impatience. In his heart he had a grievance
to vent against " Downing Street," and against the whole
system of inert, mechanical red-tapism in relation to Africa
which it represented. This grievance he had already so
240 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORED.
far voiced in his article in TJte Contcnvporarij a few months
before ; and now again he felt impelled to utter it anew,
and with a still sharper emphasis, in an article in The
Fortnightly.
The article appeared in the August number and was
entitled, " Downing Street versus Chartered Companies in
Africa." It was based upon his own personal experience
in East and West Africa. His observations, he said,
had shown him that on both sides of the continent
" Downing Street " had been stupidly and guiltily
apathetic. In East Africa it had simply thrown away its
heritage and had barely saved for itself a sphere of
influence between the seaboard and the great lakes. In
West Africa it had not only allowed itself to be fore-
stalled in many desirable quarters by jealous rivals,
but, even where it retained power and place, it had done
its utmost by mechanical and unintelligent restrictions
upon trade with native races, to crush out the spirit of
enterprise and to prevent the vigorous development of
commerce — except, perhaps, as regards the one sad in-
stance of the traffic in gin and gunpowder.
"What was the remedy for these mistakes ? His answer
was this. Let the government, under proper safeguards,
hand over to its own interested people powers which it
was officially neither fitted nor minded to exercise aright.
Let it give to men of means and intelligence some induce-
ment to put their strength and their wealth into the work
of developing Africa's resources. " There are," he said,
" but two ways to administer and develop the resources of
such regions as Central Africa, viz., either the French
method, in which the Government does everything — acts
as pioneer, makes roads and railways, establishes markets,
experiments on the products of the country, etc. — or else
Chartered Companies."
For the latter he declared unhesitatingly. A chartered
company, he held, has every interest to put money freely
into the country ; it can carry on the administration at
MORE BOOK-WORK. 241
the very cheapest rate by men of practical experience ;
it can keep up a continuous policy which the natives
soon come to understand ; and it can maintain an effective
control over the traffic, finding it for its advantage to
check everything that is deleterious.
This, he held, was no speculative theory. Experiment
had justified his argument, and he could point to the
sphere of the Royal Niger Company, in its contrast to
the remainder of the West Coast under British rule, as a
sufficiently encouraging proof of what good fruits a charter
could secure. That company, even before its chartered
days, had done wonders in a private capacity within its
restricted sphere of operations. But now that its sphere
had been so enormously widened, as the result of his
own mission to Sokoto and Gandu, and its position
rendered secure by charter, it had, in a most spirited
and successful manner, tackled the problems of the
situation. There was vigorous life and movement over
the entire sphere, and already results of a most beneficent
and promising sort had been attained.
The facts of this case, he thought, were in themselves
proof sufficient that it would be not only safe but wise to
apply the principle of devolution everywhere in Africa.
Let " Downing Street " denude itself of functions which
it was unable or unwilling adequately to discharge. Let
public enterprise have reasonably free scope, and who
could doubt that there would be a salutary forward
movement in other undeveloped parts of the continent ?
Having thus unburdened himself of his manifesto, he
resolved to treat himself to a holiday. Accordingly, in
the end of July, he set off' w^ith his friend J. M. Barrie for
a ramble on the Continent. This trip occupied six weeks,
and, as may well be supposed, the two had " a good time."
Their route led them up the Ehine to Constance, thence
through the Austrian Tyrol, and across the Stelvio Pass
into Italy. After resting awhile at Lake Como, they
returned by the Splugen Pass to Lucerne, where they
R
242 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
spent three days. Thence they wended their way to
Paris, in which they sojourned for five days, " doing "
the Great Exhibition, and seeing the sights of that gay
time.
Shortly after his return, he once more took up quarters
in Edinburgh for a fresh bout of literary work. Thence
he writes to a friend in the end of October : —
" Eor the last three weeks I have been pegging away
at the 'Travels of Mungo Park, and tlie Story of the
Niger,' till the sight of pen and ink makes me sick.
Writing is not my vocation. Eather fifty miles on foot
in an African desert than ten miles described on paper ! "
The new volume, the commencement of which he thus
impatiently chronicles, Avas one which he had undertaken
to write for The WorlcVs Great Explorers series. The aim
of the editors was to secure that each biography in the
series should be written by the highest authority available.
Naturally, therefore, Joseph Thomson, as the most recent
traveller amid the scenes of Park's triumphs and suffer-
ings, was marked as the narrator of his life-work, and of
the various efforts of exploration and commercial enter-
prise which followed upon it under the auspices of men
like Denham, Clapperton, Landers, and P>arth.
He had another and quite as vital a qualification for
writing the life of the great pioneer as that of having visited
the Niger for himself. That was a profound personal ad-
miration of the man, and a keen sympathy with his spirit
as an explorer. Park, next to Livingstone, stood out before
his mind's eye as the ideal of what a pioneer among
savage races should be. One cannot read Joseph Thom-
son's estimate of Park, knowing the writer's own character
and aspirations, \vithout feeling that the qualities de-
scribed were, so far as they went, very much those which
he was ever striving to reproduce in his own career. This
is what he says of his hero, and it Mill show the point of
MORE BOOK-WORK. 213
view from which he approached the task of writing about
him : —
" For actual hardships undergone, for dangers faced and
difficulties overcome, together with an exhibition of the
virtues whicli make a man great in the rude battle of
life, Mungo Park stands without a rival. In one respect
only — that of motive — does another surpass him. Here
Livingstone stands head and shoulders above his pre-
decessor. . . . Xot that Park was altogether wanting in
all that tends towards the spirit of self-sacrifice. On the
contrary, throughout his whole narrative we fail to find
the faintest trace of vulgar ambition or ignoble self-
seeking. He deliberately suppressed incidents wliich
would have added greatly to liis fame. . . . His wdiole
nature shrank from notoriety. ... As little was he
actuated by the desire of gain. . . . The spark that
quickened his manhood to heroism, and fired him to
* scorn delights and live laborious days,' was the worthy
ambition of a noble mind to work for the good of his
country and the advancement of knowledge, rewarded
solely by the approbation of his own conscience and the
esteem of good men. . . . From what we know of his
intense religious convictions and kindly nature. Park, had
he lived at the present day, would probably have been a
missionary, aflame for the cause of Christ, and ready to
lay down his life for it, or a traveller preaching a crusade,
not only against the slave trade, but against the gin trade
likewise."
With a subject like this, upon which lie could dilate
with full knowledge and fellow-feeling, it is not surprising
that he made rapid progress, however irksome to him the
mere penwork might be. By the end of November the
l)Ook was half written, and he was indulging in somewhat
confident hopes that he would be able to make a good
story, although he felt a vast difference between writing
]iis own travels and writing other people's.
K 2
244 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
The inevitable " blue mood," as lie called it, would once
in a while visit him. In one of these he says : —
" I have been sitting for the last hour or so trying to
imbibe some Emersonian lore, with but poor success.
My mind was too much in a wild frenzy — electricity-
charged clouds hanging portentously over life's firmament,
and throwinfT a gloom over all things here below. I am
feeling like a caged lion."
It was the old story — the feverish hunger to be once
more out in the open, and to be pouring forth his un-
slumbering energies in some new mission.
" I am," he confesses, " beginning to fret very much to
be up and doing — off and away to my adopted Continent ;
but of course I am sadly tied down by my book. Till
it is finished, I have to do my best to sit upon the wild
longings that will effervesce whether I will or no."
Happily for the restoration of his good spirits, he was
not to languish long under the prospect of hateful in-
activity. Before the year 1889 was finished, a new call
for his services was apparently beginning to make itself
articulate, and already he was anticipating the joy of
finding himself once more in the field of action.
On Christmas Eve he writes to Mrs. Gilmour in a
manner sufficiently indicative of restored buoyancy : —
" There would be clear evidence that the guiding hand
of the overruling Providence, which watches over the
errant — if not erring — footsteps of danger- pressed African
travellers, was hopelessly astray if it did not cause me to
enlist the services of my pen to convey my Christmas
greetings and good wishes to you and such as bask in the
sunshine of your presence. ... I regret that I am not in
town with you to tell you in my own particular way how
much I desire for you all good things appropriate to the
season, and ply a knife and fork once more at your table
MORE BOOIv-WORI\. 2-15
in a fashion no!"/ unbecoming one who has dined on rhino
and sucked the marrowbones of elephants.
" Of news I have got none — for am I not vegetating in
a backwater of the current of life, graced with lilies and
irises, it may be, and overshadowed and decked with
sweetest ferns, yet still with mud gathering and mephitic
gases generating therein, and sleep, death and the grave
beyond ?
" But happily the time is approaching to be once more
up and doing. Mungo Park has nearly received his com-
plete suit of new clothes, and, released from the tailoring
task, I mean to take on a coat of luminous paint and
burst one of these line days upon you all, meteor-like,
portentous with the fate of — myself."
We have no definite information as to what were the
particular prospects or purposes which he had to confide
to his friends ; but, in all probability, the " fate " to
which he refers had some relation to a mission upon which
we find him setting out three months later, and which he
thus announces in a letter to Mr. ]\IcKie : —
" I'm off to the Zambesi to do for that region what I
accomplished on the Niger — that is to say, secure it from
other people."
It may have related to another matter, for there was
more than one candidate for his services at this time. In
conveying to another correspondent the above news, he
adds : —
" Curiously enough, the East Africa Company have
been almost going down on their knees to me to go out
for them, to checkmate, if possible, this new move of
Emin. I have been rather pleased than otherwise to say,
' No,' to them, considering the way they treated me after
bringing me back from Morocco."
Be this as it may, he now decided to go out in the
246 JOSEPH THOMSON, APllICAN EXPLORER.
employ of the British South Africa Company, who, in
their proposals, were not only offering to him an oppor-
tunity of action wholly congenial, but, in the matter of
remuneration, treating him in a liberal and honourable
spirit. Not that he set great store by the mere question
of payment — for no one was ever more easy-minded about
money matters ; but, of course, it was encouraging to feel
tliat he had men to deal with who were ready to put a
respectful estimate upon his services.
In view of his new enterprise a few of his more
immediate intimates in London assembled on the 12th of
April at the Holborn Restaurant to dine in his honour
and to give him a friendly " send off." The names of his
hosts on that pleasant occasion were as follows : P. B. du
Chaillu, Dr. Hans Meyer, Edward Clodd, John Bolton,
J. M Barrie, E. G-. Eavenstein, J. Thomson, T. L. Gilmour,
George Philip, J. S. Keltic, and J. Jackson Clarke.
On the 18th of the month he sailed for Cape Town, and
so entered upon what proved, alas, to be his closing effort
in African exploration.
247
CHAPTER XI.
PIONEERING IN NORTHERN ZAMHESIA.
To Joseph Thomson as an advocate of the prmciple of
Chartered Companies in the opening up of Africa, the
British South Africa Company had from its formation
been an object of special interest. It had only been a
year or so in existence at this time, but already by its
masterly enterprise it liad laid broadly the foundations of
what might turn out to be a great empire. By treaties
and other means it had secured sovereign rights over an
enormous tract of territory, reaching north as far as the
lliver Zambesi. But it was not content with this. It was
believed that in the great unexplored region extending
up to Lake Moero there were lands of much value and
promise, which under proper administration might prove
a means of enrichment to the Company.
If this possible acquisition was to be obtained, however,
very prompt and vigorous action was necessary. Not
only were the Portuguese thoroughly wakened up to tlie
fact that their influence in East Central Africa was in
peril, but other eyes were being turned desiringly to the
territory in question. It was in urgent circumstances
like these that the directors of the Company proposed to
enlist Joseph Thomson's energies in their favour. His
past achievements as an explorer, the notable success of
his humane methods in dealing with savage races, and
248 JOSEPH THOMSON, APEICAN EXPLOllEPu
his tact and capacity in negotiating treaties with native
potentates, which liad been iUustrated so signally in the
Niger and Western Sudan region, marked liim out as the
man for their purpose in their character of commercial
pioneers.
On his part there was everything to prompt a ready
response. There was not only the delight of being put
upon his mettle in a function demanding both courage
and address, but there was the prospect, dear to the heart
of every explorer, of filling up a blank space in the map.
Moreover — a fact not without its interest or importance
to his romantic nature — tliere was the opportunity offered
in connection with the proposed expedition of visiting
spots rendered classical in the history of African travel by
their association with the last days of Livingstone.
It was with high anticipations, therefore^ that he once
more left his native shores behind. Hitherto he had
penetrated to the hidden heart of Africa thrice from the
east, once from the west and once from the north. Now
he was to complete his round of pioneering by attacking
it from the south.
After a quiet and uneventful voyage he arrived at
Cape Town. There he was received with much cordiality
by Mr. Xoble, clerk to the House of Eepresentatives. He
had first met Mr. Xoble in 1878, when he was just on the
eve of setting out on his first expedition with Keith
Johnston. Subsequently they had renewed their acquain-
tance in 1889 in the house of their mutual friend,
Sir James Anderson, when Mr. Noble cordially invited
him to call upon him if ever his travels should bring him
to the Cape. Now that he was in a position, a few
months after, to take advantage of the invitation, he was
not only welcomed but urged to make the house in
Montrose Gardens his home for the time ; and there he
received at the hands of host and hostess, both then and
subsequently, the greatest consideration. He had further,
during his stay in Cape Town, many valuable services
BRITISH SOUTH AFRICAN EXPEDITION 1800-91
HONEERING IN NORTHERN ZAMBESIA. 249
rendered to him by a brother Scotsman, Sir James Sive-
wright, who, besides " putting him up to the ropes
generally," entertained him more than once at his charming
residence, Somerset West, Sir Henry Loch also showed
him much kindness.
The first step in his programme consisted of a run to
Kimberley to confer with Mr. Cecil Ehodes, then "the
uncrowned king of those parts," from whom, as the
managing director of the Company, he was to receive his
final orders. This conference was entirely satisfactory to
himself — his own manly, straightforward nature enabling
him to appreciate the blunt, unloquacious manner of his
master for the time being, who showed equal business
capacity in the plan of campaign which he indicated, and
shrewdness in the measure with which he left him a free
hand to carry it out.
On this visit to the diamond capital he had the fortune
to meet several men whose names have become more or
less prominent in connection with the subsequent develop-
ment of Zambesia. Among these were Mr. A. II. Col-
quhoun of Asiatic fame, Mr. Eochfort Maguire, Mr. J. W.
Moir, manager of the African Lakes Company, and
Mr. (now Sir) H. H. Johnston. He also there became
acquainted with Colonel Pennefather of the Enniskillens,
and his secretary and aide-de-camp, Sir John Willoughby,
who were on their way to Mashonaland in command of
the Company's Police Force ; besides such financial mag-
nates as Messrs. Eobinson, Wulff, and Beit, of the De
Beers Company.
It was on this visit that he also met Sir. J. A. Grant,
son of the late Colonel Grant, a young man in whom
there was recognisable much of his father's vigour of
character, and who was only too glad to throw himself
into any adventure which would enable him to follow in
the parental footsteps as an African traveller. Joseph
Thomson's proposal that he should accept the position of
his lieutenant in the new expedition was at once heartily
250 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
agreed to, and the arrangement was never regretted on
either side.
Before returning, he seized the opportunity offered to
him of being taken down the diamond mines, the working
of which interested him greatly. " It is a most wonderful
sight," he remarks in his journal, " to see the thronging
hundreds of naked natives rushing along with the trucks,
or working like gnomes or evil demons in dimly lighted
corners, while white men with fierce oaths and fiercer
gestures urge them on or correct them."
Eeturning to the Cape towards the end of May, he
proceeded forthwith to make his final preparations in the
purchase of stores and of amnmnition for the use of his
men, wlien lie should have reached the interior. These
being completed, he with Grant set sail for Quiliraane on
the 1st of June, arriving at his destination on the 15th.
At (^)uilimane he had to encounter the first serious
difficulty of the expedition. In view of the manner in
which the Portuguese had been checkmated and out-
manoeuvred by the Chartered Company, official suspicion
was in a state of high sensitiveness, and, not unnaturally,
any one who seemed at all likely to be an agent of the
Company was the subject of special scrutiny. How to
pass not only themselves, then, but their stores, and above
all their guns and ammunition, through the customs
without ultimately finding themselves inmates of a Portu-
guese prison, was a problem involving no small anxiety.
Suffice it to say, however, that the thing was accomplished.
Thanks to presence of mind, hard work, and a spice of
audacity, they found themselves, with their embarrassing
(but fortunately unsuspected) bales of goods, safely stowed
in boats on the Kwa-Kwa and ready to get under weigh
for Vicenti on the Zambesi.
At Quilimane, thanks to the good offices of Mr.
Churchill, the British consul at Mozambique, there were
fifty-five stalwart Makua porters sent to him. With this
nucleus of a caravau he set out from the coast on
PIONEERING IN NOnTHEIlN ZAMBESTA. 2.")!
June 26tli. Some days of toiling tlirongh sweltering
mangrove swamps, which gradually gave place to firmer
and more healthful land, and they glided into the great
river. There the steamer James Stevenson awaited them,
and to it they transferred their goods.
They were not yet by any means safe from risk of
detention ; Init happily, beyond requiring frequent ex-
hibitions of their passports in their assumed character of
independent hunters and travellers, the Portuguese officials
gave them no serious trouble ; and in two days more they
were steaming energetically up the Zambesi.
On the Gth of July they reached the limits of the
Portuguese authority at the point where the river Puo
joins the Shire, There they expected to have again
to run the gauntlet of examination. The James Stevenson,
however, passed through the lines without even being
challenged, and was already discharging her cargo before
the Portuguese became aware of the fact that they had
been caught napping.
The circumstance was no doubt fortunate for the
travellers ; but it led to a demonstration of anger on
the part of these officials which might have had serious
consequences. Not only "was the James Stevenson cap-
tured in descending the river and her officers promptly
sent to prison, to the imminent risk of trouble between
this country and Portugal, but Thomson himself was
made the subject of a dangerous outrage. In passing
in a boat with three of his men down the British side of
the Ptuo, he was exposed to a murderous fusillade on the
part of a couple of thousand of native soldiers under the
command of Lieutenant Coutinho. His escape with his
life and a whole skin, amid such a whizzing shower of
bullets, was somewhat of a miracle. Yet, as he presently
glided into the shelter of the Shire banks, his anxiety
gave way to laughter at the comical futility of the
outrage, and as at the last moment the big guns began
to boom out, he could not resist the temptation to lift his
252 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
cap and bow in ironical politeness to the military rabljle
who had vainly spent so much good ammunition upon
him.
In passing from Chiloma, at the confluence of the rivers
liuo and Shire, to Blantyre in the 8hire highlands, he
thought it best to strike out a new route for his party.
Scaling witli much labour the mountain barrier which
frowned above Chiloma, they reached the summit at the
height of four thousand feet. Here they entered upon
rich grassy uplands having features of beauty which were
quite a surprise to the leader. Nature on every hand was
opulent in its aspect, and gave promise of a large return
to the planter who should seek to exploit its resources.
Up to that time, however, the teeming soil had been left
untouched by the white man, and even native tillage was
then a thing unknown. About the time of Livingstone's
first journey, the devastating Ajawa had unpeopled the
whole district, and thenceforth the spirit of the wilderness
had been supreme. Over this fertile tract they pushed on
amid a silence too eloquent.
In four days ]31antyre was reached, and here surprises
of another kind were in store for him. The scene that
unfolded itself as he approached Blantyre offered every-
where heartening signs of life and industry. Populous
native villages with well-tilled fields first proclaimed the
change from the forsaken, if beautiful, wilderness. Then
the gardens of the planters added an object of fresh
interest. Presently house and store, church and school,
crept into view. Finally a genuine, well-made, homelike
road was struck, which led the party "into the cosy
comfort of a Scottish home, where the Glasgow accent
reigned in delightful supremacy."
Blantyre mission station he found to l)e truly a place
of light and leading, a centre of hope and promise in the
great moral desert of East Africa. The more he recognised
the influence that was radiating from it, the more was he
cheered and thankful. Here at least was one place where
PIONEERING IN NORTHERN ZAMBESTA. 253
the advent of the whites was an unmitigated blessing to
the natives ; and here was being carried on a work for
Africa entirely after his own heart's desire. The African
Lakes Company, while practically a failure as a business
concern, had been operating hand in hand with mission-
aries as wise as they were earnest and as practical as they
were devout. The result was a revolution in the social
and industrial as well as in the religious life of the
district — a revolution which seemed likely to have a
salutary effect far and wide.
The moving spirit of the place was the Eev. D.
Clement Scott. In him he recognised a missionary
entirely according to his long cherished ideal, a man
magnetic in personality, cultured of mind, broad of view,
perfectly understanding the native character and know-
ing how to adapt himself to it, a man tireless in his
energy, and equally at home in a score of occupations.
Writing of the first Sabbath spent at the mission, the
explorer says : —
" It was interesting and touching to hear church bells
ringing over the country from Blantyre, quite a homelike
feeling of quiet and peace reigning around. Inside the
church I was surprised to note a Church of England air,
the candlesticks in the shape of a cross, embroidered
tablecover and lectern. All else, however, was Presby-
terian. The Lord's prayer was repeated aloud. There
were over twenty Scotch worshippers, and thirty or forty
Blantyre servants. The natives turned out in their
holiday costumes. Some of the women and children
looked very nice in their Svvahili dress, white with blue
sash round the waist, or blue with white sash. A special
and largely attended service for natives was held in the
afternoon, and then in the evening another service in the
church. Mr. Scott's sermon was highly interesting,
revealing the intellectual scholar in tbe impassioned and
enthusiastic preacher."
254 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
Though there was much interesting and worthy of
study at this place, the circumstances forbade delay, and
he must needs push on. At JMandala, the headquarters
of the African Lakes Company, he was hospitably received
l)y the acting manager, Mr. Jolm Moir. From the meagre
stores of the company he was able to purchase a few
additional necessaries for his caravan, and from among
their employees he secured the services of j\Ir. Charles
Wilson, a young man wlio as a helper proved invaluable
to the expedition.
On the 21st of August the caravan left for Ma tope on
the Upper Shire, whence they were to be conveyed on the
lake steamer Domira to the real starting-point of the
main journey, Kota-kota.
As Joseph Thomson, now in health and comfort,
steamed into Lake Nyassa, he could not but recall how,
on his first great journey ten years before, he had stood
footsore and toihvorn on the heights at its northern end, and
surveyed with mingled emotions its glittering expanse.
How much had been crowded into that decade, which now
in the retrospect seemed so short ! Through what varied
scenes and sufferings had those years borne him ! And
what would the next similar space of time have in store
for him ? Ah, well it was that the veil of secrecy now
rested upon even the next few months of his adventurous
career, and how much more was it well that mystery
enfolded the years of trial that were to follow '
The week's delay at Kota-kota, which they had planned
in order to secure additional porters and get things into
order for the new plunge into the unknown, was lengthened
out to a month, through a mishap to tlie Domira which
was bringing the new men from Bandawe. JUit at last
the time of weary waiting ended. On the 23rd of August,
they left the blue waters of the lake behind them and
wended their way westward.
The caravan consisted of a hundred and forty-eight,
namely, the three white men, the fifty-five Makua porters
PIONEEETNG IN NORTHERN ZAMBESIA. 255
from Mozambique, and ninety Atonga from Bandawc.
In' all there were but twenty of the company carrying
guns, so that the power of the caravan either for offence
or defence was decidedly limited.
Eising gradually from the lake by a stony and ditlicult
track, they reached the summit of the lower plateau after
four days' marching. Tliey were then at an altitude of
nearly 4500 feet. Before them stretched a landscape
entirely uninteresting and unpromising. Over this com-
monplace country they marched for a fortnight until they
reached the plain of the River Loangwa. During this
time, they, for prudential reasons, directed their route
through a kind of debatable land between the territories
of two powerful chiefs, ]Mwasi on the north, and IMpesini,
a dreaded Zulu despot, on the south. The route had one
disadvantage. The natives, ever the subject of attack on
either hand, were exceedingly suspicious. Every now
and then they gathered excitedly in threatening attitude.
Joseph Thomson, however, was a past master in tact-
ful dealing with demonstrations of this sort, and again
and again the warlike gestures were transformed into
manifestations of w^el'come, through the exercise on the
part of the strangers of a little self-control and gentleness.
Here, as elsewhere in Africa, he found that the courage of
patience smoothed the way, even where the situation
bristled with provocations to bloodshed.
The descent into the densely-populated plains of the
Loangwa on September 8th brought a very different
country into view. Here, amid rich alluvial lands, the
Babisa chief Kabwire rules over a kindly and contented
people. By this chief the caravan was very hospitably
entertained, and with him the first treaty on the journey
was made.
At Kabwire's occurred one of those exciting emer-
gencies wdiich beset the African traveller. The Atonga
porters, fearful of being taken into the unknown country
beyond, had resolved to desert in a body. Haj^pily the
256 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
plot was discovered in time to be thwarted ; but it wanted
all the leader's experience and resource to deal with the
crisis, and he had for a time no small anxiety until he
had his men fairly across the river and once more on the
march.
The Loangwa was forded ten miles below the point
where Livingstone had crossed in his last great journey,
and, after a few marches through a country of pleasant
aspect, tropical alike in its luxuriance and its heat, they
once more ascended the escarpment of the plateau forming
the so-called Muchinga Mountains, and rising to the
normal height of over 4000 feet. The explorer, with his
eye ever open for beauty, was fascinated with the scenery
that unfolded itself, as they toiled up the romantic glen
of the ]\Ipamanzi on their way to the summit. Here is
his picture of the view : —
"We look up 2000 feet and see grey crag and rugged
precipice break in many a wild and threatening shape
from the green forests, which struggle for a foothold on
the nether slopes. Below flows the river (Mpamanzi),
here sweeping past a dense brake of waving bamboo, there
lingering to lave the roots of palm and tree-fern bending
streamwards, enamoured of their own mirrored loveliness.
Anon it seems to sleep in some rock-bound basin, and
over it the lilies spread their green leaves and budding
flowers, till, waking suddenly again, it sweeps onward
under an archway of leafy trees or dashes itself to foam
among the obstructing rocks. At any moment the
dreaded buffalo may rush from that dense brake ; there
the monkey swings from tree to tree ; above, the baboons
clamour noisily, safe on their distant perch; while the
green parrot flits screaming past, striking a discordant
note in the softer music of the wind and stream."
On arriving at the summit of the plateau, his first
thought was to look with expectant curiosity for the
PIONEERING IN NORTHERN ZAMBESIA. 257
Lokinga Mountains. They were apparently non-existent;
but in their place this was what he saw : —
" Before us spread, as far as the eye could reach through
a clear atmosphere, a billowy country like the swelling
sea, its every feature clad with an unbroken forest, its
winding hollows traversed by numerous streams. On
this pleasing landscape lay the rich colours of a dawning
spring, gorgeous yet delicate, surpassing anything to be
seen in the autumn glories of our own woodlands, or in
the flowery splendours of a Moorish summer. Euby and
crimson — the distinctive tints of the young mimosa leaves
— prevailed, and, massed together, glowed under the tropic
sun like a field of living flame. Interwoven with these,
and tempering their brilliancy to a delicious harmony,
were the yellows and browns and greens of every subtle
tint and tone that marked the foliage of the passing year
—growth and decay, life and death
' Alike in glorious livery diglit,
And fair to sec' "
From dreams of beauty, however, he was rudely recalled
to the anxieties of a leader. The Makua porters had had
their Mohammedan prejudices outraged by some trifle in
connection with the killing of a goat, and to a man they
mutinied, marching indignantly out of camp. For-
tunately the disaflection was wholly confined to tliis
portion of the caravan, as the pagan Atonga men had no
sympathy with the ideas of the Makua. A little vigorous
action together with a judicious assumption of calm indif-
ference, soon brought the deserters to their senses, and
presently they found themselves compelled, crestfallen, to
resume their duties.
Through scenes of varied interest they plodded on for
several days over the cool and fertile though, strange to
pay, uninhabited uplands, gradually ascending until, at
258 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
the base of the Vimhe Hills they reached an altitude of
5300 feet. Here they were on the watershed. Behind
were the streams flowing towards the Loangwa ; in front
were those seeking their destination in Lake Bangweolo.
Two marches beyond this point — in one of which they
had to cross a swamp, wading for an hour waist-deep —
brought them to Kwa-Nansara, the village of a female
Babisa chief.
The 21st of September, the day of their arrival here,
proved to be a sadly memorable date in the history of the
expedition ; for then it was they discovered to their alarm
that they had to reckon with the deadly scourge of those
regions, small-pox. The calamitous outbreak occurred
without the slightest warning. Within twenty-four hours
eleven of the porters were hors de combat. The one course
open to them was to leave the smitten men behind —
making all possible provision for their maintenance and
comfort — and to press on in hope that they might escapa
from the pestilence. It was not for long, however, that they,
dared to cherish tliat hope ; for in the marches that followed
man after man succumbed to the loathsome disease. At
first the loads of the ailing porters were distributed among
the healthy ; but very soon that process reached its limit,
and loads had to be hidden by the way and sent for from
the next camp.
So they toiled on, forlorn and anxious, through the
unpeopled, trackless, forest-clad wilderness that had to be
crossed in order to reach Lake Bangweolo. Meanwhile
their food supply failed, and as the dolorous way lengthened
itself out, through the discovery that the maps were all
wrong, and that day by day the expected lake was
"receding before them like the mirage," the burden on
the leader's spirit was fast becoming one of despair.
To the intense relief of all, on the 29th of September,
they descried signs of human habitations. Presently
they entered the village of Chitambo. Never w^as haven
more joyfully welcomed by trouble-stressed men, and
nONEERING IN NORTHEEN ZAMBESIA. 259
there amid plentiful provisions they were only too glad
to rest and recruit.
The name of Chitambo was familiar as that of the scene
of Livingstone's death. It was soon found, however, that
there were two villages so designated, and that the
classical bearer of the name was no less than twenty
miles away to the east. Fain would Joseph Thomson
have gone in person to visit the great explorer's grave.
But in the sad condition of the caravan it was simply
impossible that either he or his assistants could leave it
even for a day. The only alternative was to send an
intelligent and trusted headman to see the place and
report. " He returned," says the explorer, " with the
account that the tree under which Livingstone's heart
was buried still spreads its protecting branches over the
spot, displaying the inscription unharmed cut deep into
its bark " — a part of which bark the visitor so far exceeded
his instructions as to bring with him.
It is right to note, in passing, that doubt has been cast
upon this man's report by the late American explorer
Glave, who claims to have seen and photographed, at Ilala
further westward, the veritable tree, with the bark pared
off for a space of about two and a half feet square, and
the inscription deeply cut into the hard solid wood.
AVhat the real facts are it is impossible, without further
evidence, to say. Only Joseph Thomson quite positively
makes this statement, as the result of personal inquiries :
*' Livingstone did not die in the district of Ilala, but in
that of Kalinde " (in which Old Chitambo is situated).
The same circumstances which prevented the explorer
from personally visiting Livingstone's grave availed also
to hinder him from making a scientific survey of the
south end of Bangweolo ; but such observations and
inquiries as he was able to make furnished material for
important corrections. Two facts at least were brought
out : the level of the lake was much lower than had been
supposed, and neither in the dry nor in the wet season
8 2
260 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
did the lake reach anything like so far to the south as the
maps showed.
The few days of rest at Chitambo were days of
deepening gloom, so far as the small-pox scourge iwas
concerned. In those days six men were buried, and when
once more the caravan marched forth on the 5tli of
October, it was with a melancholy rear-guard of fifteen
men in all stages of the loathsome disease. The situation
is thus depicted by the leader himself : —
'•' It would be impossible to describe the worries and
troubles which now dogged our footsteps. It w\as bad
enough to be hampered for lack of healthy porters and
harassed by necessary attendance on the sick, but when
we began to be boycotted by the natives, it seemed as if
we would be utterly crushed. Only by a determined
show of arms were we enabled to proceed, while each
camp claimed its victim, and on each march some poor
wretch slunk into the jungle to die in peace. The men
who were healthy grew dispirited and worn out from
overwork. They rebelled continually, demanding to be
taken back, and only by daily threats and promises could
they be forced forward."
It was thus that they dragged their weary steps west-
ward. Had they been in a position to enjoy them, the
sights that daily met their eyes were pleasing in the
extreme, for they were passing through a delectable land
for natural advantages, a land overflowing with plenty
and swarming with all kinds of game, which mingled
gracefully to the view amid tropical foliage, or gambolled
in the grassy glades. Now they traversed the verdant
plain of the Lohombo ; now they threaded their path for
days on the banks of the majestic Luapula, sweeping on
to become itself the Congo ; now they passed over the
flower-bedecked rolling uplands of Iramba.
After three weeks of marching, in which dolour was
strangely mingled with delight, they found themselves at
PIONEERING IN NORTHERN ZAMBESIA. 261
Kwa-Kavoi, a small village situated near the watershed of
the country. This proved to be a turning point in the
journey in more senses than one. Further progress
westward was stopped by a vast, trackless, uninliabited
forest wilderness, for which no guide could be got, and
through which in their desolate condition it was hopeless
to attempt to pass. A similar condition prevailed also
towards the south. There was no choice left therefore
but to strike out in a direction east by south, in the hope
that they might outflank the forest and reach their
objective — the Eiver Kafue — in a roundabout way. But
these disappointments were trivial in comparison with the
calamity wliich here befell ; for now it was that the leader
himself realised, after some days of suspicious symptoms,
that he was in the fell grasp of some grievous disorder.
To himself the trouble was mysterious, and it was only
long afterwards, when medical experts were able to take
the case in hand, that the history of it could be traced.
The beginning of the mischief had been laid in Morocco.
In the course of his journeying there a riding accident
had occurred in which he was nastily wounded upon the
pommel of his saddle. The wound had healed freely, but
in such a manner as to leave a certain liability to future
trouble. The labours and hardships of this new journey
supplied precisely the conditions likely to turn the risk
into a reality, and now he was subjected to the wearing
and overmastering agonies of acute cystitis.
In these perturbing circumstances he set his face to the
new route. It, too, led them into a forest tract, but they
trusted to a guide to lead them through it. Presently,
however, they found that he had deserted them. For
four days they marched on with deepening solicitude.
Already they were beginning to feel the pangs of hunger
and dismay, when to their joy they suddenly emerged on
the edge of an open cultivated country. There at least
they could procure a supply of food.
But it was a case of " out of the frying-pan into the
262 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFEICAN EXPLORER.
fire." The district liad been again and again harried by
the Portuguese slave-raiders, and now was repeated the
experience which he had had ten years before on the west of
Tanganyika. Wherever the caravan appeared throughout
this country the natives in a frenzy of suspicion mustered
in hostile array. So critical was the situation at times as
to make it no small marvel that bloodshed was avoided.
On the 4th of November the village of Msliiri was
reached. Here the crisis in the affairs of the expedition
became acute. It was the leader's purpose to strike
westward from this point, in hope to reach Sitandas in
Manica-land — Selous' furthest point north. But the
small-pox plague had now returned with renewed viru-.
lence — as many as six being attacked in one night — and
already it had destroyed quite a third of the caravan.
Then whenever the Atonga found that the order of march
was to be again westwards, they in a paroxysm of home-
sickness broke all bonds of discipline. Tliey ])ecame
quite reckless in their determination to return and run
all risks, although they well knew that these were
enormous. Quietly at night they made their prepara-
tions, and the next morning dawned upon an almost
deserted camp.
The situation was one of the most galling and vexatious
conceivable. A leader could scarcely have been in a
harder case. With the mere remnant of his caravan,
nearly all of whom were sick and dying men ; with the
rainy season about to begin, increasing tenfold the diffi-
culties and hardships of travel ; and with his own strength
on the verge of complete prostration through the sufferings ,
he was undergoing — what was left for him to do except
to submit to the inevitable, and take what measures he
could to stave off utter disaster ?
, The Atonga, overtaken by hastily despatched mes-
sengers, agreed to pause for a palaver. Neither appeals
nor bribes, however, availed to turn the desperate men
from their purpose. He thought himself fortunate in the
PIONEERING IN NORTHERl^ ZAMBESIA. 263
end when, in his eagerness to save this part of his plan
from hopeless defeat, he succeeded in striking a compromise.
The main body of the men would camp there under
Grant and Wilson (who would be as hostages for his
return), while a small party should accompany himself to
Sitandas.
Everything in his circumstances counselled haste in
this business. As soon, therefore, as he could get his
selected following ready for the road, he was ofi' under
pressure. Footing it at the rate of over twenty miles a
day, he traversed the country of Urenge, reaching the
borders of Manica-land at the village of Kwa-Chepo.
There he had hoped to make the desired treaty with the
chief Chepepo. That chief, however, had been driven
to settle in a new place twenty miles further to the north,
owing to the raids of a Portuguese ivory and slave-trader
from Zumbo — who, by the way, was met at Kwa-Chepo,
his compound significantly crowded with the fruits of his
last raid, boys, girls, and cattle.
At Chepepo's, whither the explorer now hastened, he
learned that the chief Sitanda was dead ; and, as it was
thus useless to proceed further, he once more set his face
towards the camp. Travelling resolutely on, with no
guide but his compass, and amidst the anguish of a
rapidly increasing illness, he re-entered Mshiri's on the
tenth day, having covered during his absence a distance
little short of two hundred miles.
If his return to the camp was beclouded by anxious
forebodings about his own condition, it was not brightened
by the news that met him. Not only had the epidemic
continued its ravages among the men, but it had spread
to the natives, and, to the horror of the people, even one
of the chief's sons had fallen a victim. A new peril had
thus been incurred, which could not be ignored. Tliere
must be no delay for rest. They coukl not leave the place
an hour too soon.
Thus, under the most dolesome conditions, the return
264 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
journey was commenced ou the 18th of Xovember. Hap-
pily for the men the epidemic had apparently spent its
force ; and with reviving spirits, as they knew themselves
facing homewards, they soon began to improve. It was
all the other w^ay, however, with the stricken leader.
With a resolute heart he strode on for a short time
determined to set an example of endurance, although
" every step was marked by a throb of pain." But there
were limits beyond wliich even his brave will could not
sustain him, and soon it became plain that the only
condition of progress was that he should submit to be
carried. A hammock was hastily constructed, as com-
fortable as their scanty resources would permit, and in
this he was borne over the remaining six hundred miles
to Blantyre.
The story of what he endured in those dreary weeks
that followed, and of how, amid the distractions of his
sore trouble, he had to do his endeavour to direct the
affairs of the caravan, and fulfil by the way the objects
of the expedition, need not be dwelt upon in detail. A
sufficiently suggestive glimpse of the predicament is given
in the following quotation from a letter, subsequently
written, to IVliss Noake : —
*•' It would have given you a proper ' scunner ' to have
seen my caravan at some stages, with its long tail of
disease-struck beings, although I have no doubt you
would have been moved to greater pity if you had seen
my men carrying my skeleton in a hammock on the last
stage of the journey, when I had tramped on until I
had thus indecently disrobed my bones of their proper
covering, and exhausted all the vital force belonging to
me. I really believe you would have objected to put
your hands on such fevered remnant of a brow as was
then left me. . . . You can imagine what a jolly Christmas
and iSTew Year I had, with my men playing pitch and toss
with my remaias ! '
PIONEERING IN NORTHERN 2AMBESIA. 265
Thus, in a grim race with Death, he steadfastly
agonised towards his goal, pressing on over ridge,
and dale, and swollen flood in the mountainous land
which separated them from Lake Xyassa. They crossed
the Lunsefra Eiver and its tributaries, traversed the
hundred and fifty miles of toilsome up-and-down country
between the Chifukunga Mountains and the Muchinsa
Mountains, reaching the Eiver Loangwa on December 5th.
It was hoped that from this point they would be able
to strike straight east to Blantyre. But, as in the Kafue
Basin, the Portuguese slave-traders had transformed the
country into a pathless and silent wilderness, into which
no man would venture as their guide. The only course
remaining for them was the unwelcome one of proceeding
by way of Mpesini's.
The aspect of the country they had now to cross was
interesting in the extreme — interesting in its charmingly
picturesque variety, interesting, above all, in the evidence
wdiich every mile afforded of its great natural resources
and abundant possibilities. A teeming population, and
the appearance on every hand of vast flocks and herds,
sufficed to show that here at least want was unknown.
But if Nature was attractive, man was very mucli the
reverse. Numbers and abundance had fostered arrogance,
and in the overbearing attitude of the natives there were
unpleasant omens of trouble in store for the caravan.
As for Mpesini himself, it was not without cause that
he had got his evil name. He proved, in fact, to be
an arbitrary and bloodthirsty savage ; and his attitude
towards his British visitors was not ameliorated by the
fact that he had at his ear, as adviser, a man in the pay
of the Portuguese. Be that as it may, there was no
getting to terms with him, and every hoi;r of delay
seemed to make his hostility more jDronounced and his
conduct more unpleasant. When at last they were com-
pelled, after three days, to move on from the immediate
neighbourhood of his kraal, they were attacked for plunder
266 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
on the way by a party of warriors, and it was only by the
most vigorous resistance, under the direction of Grant,
that they were able to drive their assailants off.
Their relations with Mpesini were not to end with this
fracas. It had happened, unfortunately, that in the
defence one of the assailants had been speared. The
incident roused the Zulu bully to fury. Presently the
alarmino; news came to their ears that an onslaught in
force had been planned, and, if they were to save them-
selves from disaster, prompt measures must be taken. With
the leader hors dc comhat, and the caravan weakened and
demoralised by its troubles, besides being very insuffi-
ciently armed, it was vain to think of making a successful
stand in fight. The only alternative was flight. Under
the cover of darkness, therefore, they silently disappeared,
though not without repeated narrow escapes from detec-
tion, and, marching all night and far on into the next day,
rested not until they had left Mpesini's country a long
way behind.
It wanted but two days of further effort to bring them
into the kindlier atmosphere of Mwasi's village. There
they rested for two days — the last of 1890 and the first of
1891. On the 4th of January they stood once more on
the escarpment of the plateau, looking upon Lake Nyassa
with its verdant bordering plain.
At Kota-kota, which the remnants of the caravan entered
on the same day, the journey was practically at an end ;
and not a moment too soon for Joseph Thomson. He had
been brought to the uttermost stage of exhaustion. It
was only his manful tenacity of spirit that had enabled him
thus far to keep body and soul together. Indeed, but for
the invaluable relief from many of his cares, afforded by
the devotion of his assistants. Grant and Wilson, he
would almost certainly on this journey have found his
grave in the continent which he had done so much to
open up.
He was sorely in want of medical treatment. But for
PIONEERING IN NORTHERN ZAMBESlA. 267
that he must needs wait, with what resolution lie could
summon to his aid, for a whole month, pending the arrival
of the lake steamer, Domira. Thanks, however, to the
rest and the good milk supplied by the chief Jumbe, he
was enabled to regain sufficient strength for the final
effort. On the 14th of February he signalised his thirty-
third birthday by resuming his course to Blantyre, and after
five days of further painful travelling he was borne into
that hospitable haven, to find a sympathetic welcome from
the missionaries.
From leaving Kota-kota till his return to it five months
later he had travelled at least 1250 miles, about 950 of
which represented entirely unexplored territory ; and
through the treaties which he had been able to conclude
with chiefs by the way, he had secured lor his employers
tlie entire political, trading and mining rights over an area
of no less than 40,000 scpiare miles. From an agricultural
point of view, this vast territory was by far the most
promising he had seen in Africa. A large proportion of
it is simply holding its riches for the incoming of the
planter ; and as the climate is for the most part excellent
and the mineral indications favourable, no one can foresee
the extent to which, in the near future, colonising work
might be carried on over the area thus acquired.
As soon as possible after the arrival at Blantyre, Grant
was despatched to the Cape with tlie fruits of the expedi-
tion in the shape of treaties. Meantime, Joseph Thomson
was fain to submit himself to rtie skilful attentions of the
medical missionary. Dr. W. Scott. That gentleman, by
such measures as were available, was able to alleviate
considerably the prostration of the sufferer and to mitigate
the most distressing symptoms. But it was soon evident
that the case was of too serious a nature and too badly
complicated to be adequately dealt with except by surgical
treatment at the hands of a specialist. The immediate
aim, therefore, was to get up his strength sufficiently to
permit of his attempting with safety the journey home.
268 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
In this, some small headway was made ; but in the
exceedingly adverse physical circumstances in which he
was placed, his advance towards convalescence could not
but be of the slowest.
On the 26th of April he wrote to his friend, Mr. Noble ,
at Cape Town : — -
" Our trip would have been a pleasant one if it had not
been for that loathsome monster, small-pox, which per-
sistently dogged our footsteps. Then the illness which
laid hold of me made life a weary and painful burden to
me during three-fourths of our journey, and has left me
even yet with but tlie shadow of my former strength.
"I am glad to say, however, that I have vastly im-
proved since I came to Blantyre, and might, indeed, have
been a little better but that for the most part I have been
without a doctor — he having gone to Quilimane as escort
to Mrs. Scott, who has been sadly shaken by the recent
series of disasters, which have so crippled the staff* of the
Blantyre Mission. Happily, Dr. Scott is exj)ected back
every day now, and once he is here I hope to push ahead
a little faster.
" I must conclude that, for an African traveller, my
lines have fallen in pleasant places. Blantyre is really a
charming place, picturesque in aspect, delightful in climate,
not lacking in good society or in the more material good
things of this life. I have been very much struck by the
excellent way in which the mission is conducted here.
The church that has been built is to me the most wonder-
ful thing I have seen in Africa, when it is considered who
planned it and the people who built it.
" Since Grant left us a rather melancholy incident has
happened here. A fine young fellow, called Wilson, was
with us in our expedition and had the best of health all
through — was, indeed, a stone heavier on his return, I
sent him off to do a bit of treaty-making work to the
west, which he accomplished successfully. He had almost
PIONEERING IN NORTHERN ZAMBESIA. 269
re-reacbed Blantyre when he got such a dose of fever that
he was brought in nearly dead. He did, in fact, die,
despite our best efforts, in a few days. He was a capital
fellow, and I had looked forward to taking him again with
me. Such, however, are the ups and downs of African
travel.
" I often wonder how you are all gettiug on at the Cape
— I mean my friends of course. I have had serious
thoughts of coming south for a change, and may yet do
so if I do not get better a little faster."
The loss of Wilson above referreJ to was, indeed, an
occasion of real distress to him, for he had become sincerely
attached to the young man as well as to his other assistant,
Grant. " It would be impossible for me," he testified
elsewhere, " to over-estimate the character of Mr. Wilson.
He possessed all the qualities to make him successful in
the life he had chosen, and I am sure a more willing and
cheerful worker never travelled in Africa. ... It was the
oft-told African story of a bright and promising career
brought prematurely to a close."
In the Ijeginning of May a telegram from Mr. E bodes,
telling him to await further instructions, made him aware
that some new project was afoot. Not till July, however,
was his curiosity satisfied ; and then curiosity gave place
to anxious perplexity. The instructions came in the form
of a characteristically laconic letter from Rhodes : —
" Thanks for your letter. You seem to have had the
plagues of Egypt.
" I want you to get M'siii's. I mean Katanga. The
King of the Belgians has already floated a company for it,
presumably, because he does not possess it. ISText time
you arrive there no doubt Arnot will be there, so matters
will he all right. . . . You must go and get Katanga. If
you are too seedy send Sharpe witli Grant. — Yours
C. J. Erodes."
270 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEEK.
Joseph Thoiiisun was, indeed, at that moment " too
seedy " for anything. He could, in fact, do very little
more than move ahout the place in invalid fashion, and the
root of all his suffering was still undealt with. It seemed
like marching to death to set out on such a mission. But
in his chivalrous view of things duty was more than life.
Sharpe was not available, and a task so difficult and
delicate wanted an experienced hand to deal with it. He
would go himself ! though he should have to be carried all
the way, as, indeed, seemed most probable.
Having once settled this matter with himself, he at
.once set aljout his preparations with all the vigour of will,
if not of body, which was characteristic of him — making
sport the while at the only too evident tokens of his
weakness. It is in this vein of apparently rollicking higli
spirits that he W'rites at the time to a literary corre-
spondent in London. Here, parenthetically, we may note
that meantime Mr. H. H. Johnston had been appointed to
represent the majesty of England in Nyassaland ; and those
who are acquainted with the new commissioner's published
views as to the luxuries and amenities necessary in a
pioneer life will understand the playful references of the
letter.
"A couple of days ago I was preparing for a run
south to the Cape — a run which probably would not
have ended till I had precipitated myself, if not upon
your manly breast, at least into the bosom of your
family. To-day all that is changed, and I am preparing
for another run north and west — opening the way, as
it were, for the approach of the 'neat, elegant, and
debonair figure' of a gentleman not nnknown to the
columns of The Times. My change of route is due to
a letter from Ehodes which rang in my ears like the
bugle call to an old cavalry horse. So here I am on
the prance.
" Of course my object, as you have already informed
PIONEERIXG IN NORTHERN ZAMBESTA. 271
a discerning public, is to consolidate the treaties "with
which I have already littered M'siri's kingdom, and
so raise an impassable barrier to all comers who may
have the impudence to venture into those parts, which
an all-wise Providence has clearly designed for those
who sail under the colours of the B. S. A. It is to be
hoped that Providence has also designed me as the
humble instrument ; for, alas ! Joseph is not as he has
been. The ' cancers,' the ' internal tumours,' and such
like diseases to which he is a prey, will be sadly
against him doing the seventy miles a day in which he
rejoiced of old. These colossal strides must now give
place to modest marches of fifteen or twenty miles
carried, ye gods ! in a machiUa.
" However, I hope to come up smiling by taking care
to supply myself with marmalades, jams, and other
luxuries of that nature to which I have been accustomed,
I would like to have adopted a higher level, but alas !
Grant has stupidly brought up with him only two tins
of pate cle foie gras and one tin of caviare. However,
we shall keep these, in case of our having H. H. J. to
dinner, so that he may be deceived into supposing that
such is our daily fare, and that we don't belong to the
marmalade class. Sheets for our bed are beyond us, and
I don't know about table napkins. . . .
" To tell you the truth, I am very far from being in a fit
condition to travel, and hence the late intention of goinir
south. Certainly my recovery has been going on at a dread-
fully slow pace. During all these months I have been
here, I have only twice walked as much as a mile, and my
days and nights have been anything but delightful. . . .
" I expect to leave here about the 20th, and if all
goes well, I shall be back in January, if not December.
1 shall then proceed to the Cape, and home to be
renovated and generally overhauled, while I bask in the
smiles of my fair friends and enjoy in a reflected way
the sweets of other people's domestic bliss."
272 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEER.
In a fortnight the arrangements for the new journey
were complete. Another day, and the caravan would
have been en route. But, just at the last moment,
there was an unexpected interference, apparently at the
instance of the British Government. As in a dissolving
view the situation was transformed. The expedition to
Katanga, happily as it turned out, was at an end. So,
unhappily, was also Joseph Thomson's work in Africa,
although as yet he knew it not.
A month later he said good-bye to Blantyre, leaving
in that interesting community, as everywhere, the kindliest
memories of his stay; and on the 18th of October he
once more landed on English soil.
( 273 )
CHAPTER XII.
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA.
The explorer's arrival had been anxiously anticipated.
In his letters home he had, with instinctive considerate-
ness, made light of his bodily troubles. But the long
unexplained delay of eight months at Elantyre was
ominous, and meantime evil rumours of various sorts
vv^ith respect to his condition had leaked out. It was
variously reported in this country that lie was suffering
from cancer, tumour in the bladder, and other things.
These circumstances had prepared his friends to expect
a change in his appearance,, and, when he did arrive, it
wanted no skilled eye to note the traces of mucli sore
suffering. He had left for the Zambesi the picture of
liealth and strength, but now, despite the fact that his
rest at Blantyre had done much to improve his physical
condition, he was but the shadow of his former self.
It was with a sense of unspeakable relief that he
reached once more his father's fireside ; for with his
wonted hopefulness he assured himself that his native
air and the treatment of experts would speedily put
matters to rights with him. Merciful was the cloud
that veiled from his knowledge the immediate future —
the weary months and years of stress for body and mind
which lay before him. Strong man as he was, even his
T
274 JOSEPH THOMSON, APKICAN EXPLOREH.
brave heart could not have borne tbe anticixDation of
his coming experiences.
In his active career the courage of a manly soul had
been tried in a thousand forms by privations and hard-
ships and dithculties, by wild beasts and savage men.
But not less terribly was his courage to be tried in
another way. For now he had entered upon his " Valley
of Shadows," when, amid the consciousness of weak-
ness, the depressing sense of enforced inaction, and the
never-ceasing burden of pain, yet with intellect clear
and aspiration unquenched, he could but stand and see
his hopes crumbling, and his bright dreams of further
usefidness vanish into thin air. For him at many a
coming eventide too real was to be the feeliug thus voiced
by another great sufferer : —
"The clay is over, the feverish careful tlay;
Can I recover strength that has ebbed away ?
Can even sleej) sucli freshness give,
That I again should wish to live?
Let me lie down !.... Give me a quiet grave;
Pielease and not rewarcl, I ask ;
Too hard for me life's daily task."
A month at Gatelawbridge enabled him to overcome
the more immediate effects of his long and trying voyage,
via Cape Town, to this country. In November he removed
to Edinburgh for the special treatment to which he had
been looking forward. There he remained for the next
seven months, six of which were spent at 3, Cassells
Place, Leitb, the house of his loviog friends Dr. and
Mrs. Calder, who devoted themselves with every art of
tender ministry to the alleviation of his miseries.
It was hoped at first that ordinary medical remedies
might secure the object aimed at, and enable Nature once
more to bring about healthful conditions. A few weeks,
however, were sufficient to prove the necessity of more
heroic measures. An operation presented itself before
him as a thing inevitable.
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 275
When lie had once made up his mind to this "short
cut " to health (as he punningly called it), he must needs
do his best as in other hard cases to exercise his wit upon
it. In December, he writes thus to Gilmour : —
" You Avill no doubt be asking prosaically : ' But how
are you getting on ? ' As if I, in my impaired health,
could endure any such abrupt demand to stand and
deliver my news ! Why not let my soul, under the
influence of the friendly muse, get away from its inflamed
surroundings and seek peace, if only momentary, in a more
serene and genial environment ? Must I always remain
in a vale of tears — always a subject of exploration and
medical treatment ? No : ten thousand times no ! Though
you cut my wings and pile leaden ballast upon me, yet
will I aspire to rise on such angel pinions as I can
borrow ! . . . Still borrowed wings are hard to work,
and despite them I sink back to earth and the weary
woes that mar its beauty.
" And now must I be realistic, and lift up my voice
and weep over the evil days that have come upon me ?
In my sore affliction, sitting as it were in ashes, clothed
in sackcloth, shall I give my language something of the
inflammatory quality which characterises part of my inner
man, giving vent, as it were, to the music of the lower
spheres ? But no, I will be calm. . . .
" Possibly you have heard through Keltic some coherent
statement of my case. In general health I have nothing
to complain of ; but in regard to my special trouble I can
only write in groans. There must have been some im-
provement; nevertheless, in one of my most harassing
symptoms the reverse seems to be the case. I have
rarely half an hour's peace of mind night or day, and
that keeps me much reduced bodily and mentally. I
get out for a short drive now and then, but get mighty
little pleasure from it. Cold affects me very keenly.
Without some more drastic treatment, this sort of thing
T 2
276 JOSErH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
may go on for months. But my patience has got to the
end of its tether. I have quite made up my mind to
undergo an operation."
To Miss Noake he also writes about the same time : — -
"I have now been two months in the hands of the
doctors, who have done precious little to relieve my tortures.
I have finally resolved to submit to the surgeon with the
beginning of the year. The prospect is not a pleasant one,
but the shortest cut will be the best. You will now under-
stand what a jolly time is before me for Christmas and
New Year — drowning my sorrows in soda and milk, feast-
ing on slops, having ' a high old time ' in the delightful
seclusion of my bedroom, charmed with the occasional
visits of my doctor and nurse. Well, it is a poor heart
that never rejoices, and I am going to rejoice in the
thought that matters might be worse with me. ... It
is certainly rather difficult for me at present to take a
cheerful view of life, but unless one goes in for suicide
there's no use moping."
In the same spirit he writes a week later : —
" My Christmas has been made additionally merry by
a sore thumb. Nothing could be more jolly than to be
confined to the house with a complication of troubles,
and not to be allowed through pain to bite one's own
thumb, and otherwise enjoy one's self as may be thought
proper. However, I shall take comfort in the thought
that that is nothing compared to the fun that is in store
for me on Monday week and the days that follow, when I
shall have the opportunity of drawing what I like on my
bedroom ceiling, when I am tired of reading novels and
counting my fingers. Truly I have much to be thankful
for, when I tliink of the people who can go out in the
cold and the rain and make pretence of enjoying them-
selves, while I, nicely tucked up in bed, have no fear of
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 277
cauld blasts' or other accompaniments of winter in
puir auld Scotland.
" How shall I thank yon for the flowers you sent to
gladden my heart and my olfactory organs ? There was
a time when I would have soared Ingrh in answering? their
nice message. But, alas, a heavy weight clings to my
feet; my poetical wings are cut and singed, and I can
only flop about like an ostrich trying to fly ! "
In the beginning of January, 1892, he removed to a
private nursing home in Forres Street, Edinburgh, where
Professor C'hiene was to operate upon him. It was
thought that a fortnight would suffice to fit him for
a return to his friends in Leith. But here a new dis-
appointment was in store for him. The operation was
quite successfully performed, but owing to the low con-
dition to which the vital forces of his constitution had
been reduced, the healing process advanced only with
the most tantalising tediousness. It was full six weeks
before he had the happiness of saying good-bye to the
room which he had come to look upon as a veritable
prison-house.
The net result of the drastic treatment was, as he had
to confess to himself, not cheering. The original illness
remained in as irritating a form as ever. Every day,
moreover, a weakening malarial fever, running to 102°
to 103", returned persistently upon him. Still he
struggled away bravely against his depression. " I have
not much to boast of," he said, " yet I must be hopeful
that with time I shall once more be able to take a walk
somewhere, if not across Africa."
This was written on the 16th of February; but not
many days after it seemed as if even this modest hope
was doomed to summary extinction. One after another
the demons of trouble, begotten of his African hardships
and toils, were finding him out in his disabled condition
and, vulture like, settling upon him as their prey. In
278 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREE.
this case it was some malignant complication in con-
nection with liver and kidneys that suddenly developed.
The illness was as alarming as it was sudden. It brought
him to the very door of death, and it was long before he
crept away from that undesirable neighbourhood.
"1 have had a bad time of it," he writes to Mrs.
Gilmour in the end of March. " However, matters are
better again, though every now and then another attack
of fever throws me back. You would hardly recognise
me if you saw me now. I am almost a skeleton, and as
weak as a baby. To some extent this is due to my lack
of sleep. I see nothing before me but long, painful, or
rather worrying, months of convalescence. It is all
sufficient to make me despair.
" We had a visit from Barrie last Friday on his way
north. He says he is going to start a new novel at once
— scene chiefly in London. His visit was of course quite
the best of stimulants for me, bringing as he did such
a budget of news about all my London friends. Heigho !
When shall I get down to see them all ?
" You must excuse me if I don't write any more, as I
am still in a brain muddle and hardly know how to
write."
Independent of his own weakness and suffering, there
were other circumstances to cast him down, especially the
death about this time of several intimate acquaintances,
such as Colonel Grant, and H. W. Bates, whose friend-
ship and wise help had so cheered him in the beginning
of his career as an explorer. To Edward Clodd, who
subsequently acted as the biographer of the latter, he
thus speaks (10th April) of his sad experiences : —
"My new illness happened on the day of dear old
Bates' funeral, so that I nearly started off to search for
him and otherwise explore the Elysian Fields. However,
thanks to the ' be.st advice ' that Edinburgh could offer,
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 279
I was dissuaded from proceeding there for the time being.
From that illness I have never quite recovered. Daily-
attacks of fever, along with the eternal worry of my
original trouble, keep me crushed to the ground. I am
little better than a bag of bones. The specialists are
quite at a loss what to make of my case. They are at
present having a series of investigations made to see
if the real seat of the trouble is not in the kidneys. If
it proves to be so, then that will mean another operation,
and where it is all going to end the Lord only knows.
Meanwhile I have not lost sight of my project to explore
the Elysian Fields."
The conviction that his case had quite bewildered the
doctors grew upon him. He felt that he was merely the
subject of experiments. And, as the weary days dragged
on with their monotony of suffering, and the end of
the spring found him still at mental and physical zero,
through continuous pain and nervous distraction and
sleeplessness, he resolved to take the law into his own
hands. He would see what the quiet, the sunshine and
the country air of home would do for him. The journey
of four hours was a heroic measure in his exhausted con-
dition, and his proposal to undertake it alarmed his
friends ; but there was no turning him from his purpose.
The beginning of May therefore saw him rolling home-
ward in charge of his brother, with his temperature at
104°. His resolute spirit triumphed once more, and he
reached his destination without complete collapse.
The change and the invigorating influence of home did
have a reviving effect upon him. Anew the stirrings of
hope began to be felt. In acknowledging a gift of roses sent
to him from the sunny south he writes to the sender : —
" I can now find breath to thank you for your delightful
present — though in some respects the sight of them
makes me sigh at my inability to fly to where the roses
grow and the east wind does not blow, . . . The doctors
280 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
have practically given me up, but the roses tell me to be
of good cheer, lor the spring, such as it is, has come and
the summer is at hand, and all things bloom and become
green. And why, then, should I not regain the freshness
of other days and flourish like the green bay tree ? "
The sight of the country bursting into summer life and
beauty was itself a quickening influence, and fain was he
to respond to the spirit of life asserting itself all around
him.
" We have had rain," he says, " for the last three days,
and the benefit produced has been enormous. It has
been like springing from winter into summer, so far as
the vegetation is concerned. I am longing to be able to
walk up as far as the White Quarry, and over to Crichope
Linn. The one must be beautiful with primroses — the
other with newly bursting ferns. But this fever and all
the other worries are too much for even my will or my
wishes, and like an old worn-out man I must sit over
the fire, or try to find better rest in bed."
Slowly the general tone of his health improved, although
the fundamental mischief obstinately refused to give way.
Presently he was able to take a gentle drive now and
then, whenever, in the course of an unpropitious summer,
the sun would deign to shine and be genial. On such
occasions how his heart swelled with the joy of Xature !
In July he writes :—
" The country is looking superlatively lovely. The
wild flowers never displayed themselves in such profusion
and beauty, nor the ferns in such luxuriant grace. Woods
and fields alike are in the richest greens, so that it is a
continual delight to drive about in spite of cold and
clouds."
The revival of strength very soon, as was to be expected,
revealed itself in the rejuvenescence of his spirits, and
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 281
presently lie wa.s blossoming out according to his wont
with new " flowers of the soul." To his friend Keltie he
thus unbosoms himself: —
" For some months l)ack I have meditated over the idea
of sending you a few notes of the Great Northern Wail,
instalments of which I have from time to time sent south
during the past winter. . . .
"Tiie Wail has now less of the tone of despair — a wail
with a something of promise in it, calculated to play upon
the ear-drum of some fair damsel as with the eloquent
melancholy of sighing woods, rippling streams, and other
sounds of Nature. Consider me then as a sweetly sad
Voice in the wilderness, on quest for ' beds of amaranth
and moly ' — a Voice ever ringing with a clearer and more
inspiring note as it nears the Land of Promise — no longer
echoing the bleat of mountain sheep or circling wliaup,
but gradually adapting itself to fill the air with the
triumphant soaring song of the joyous lark.
" To return from the clouds and metaphors which may
be mixed — the genuine Thomsonian blend — let me tell
you in plainer language that, though I am still in the
Vale of Tears, it no longer wears the aspect of a Valley of
Death. The clouds are breaking overhead, and in the
distance a way out appears. Each day finds my lungs
better inflated, while 1 am putting on flesh and gradually
re-acquiring the Adonis-like proportions so satisfying, let
me hope, to the eye of my lady friends."
It was also inevitable with the quickening of the pulse
of life that he should begin to crave after some employ-
ment, if it were only to release him from a depressing
self-consciousness. At this time a very pleasant distrac-
tion suggested itself in the fitting up of a little museum,
wherein he might bestow the many souvenirs of Ids travels.
This offered scope not only for his ingenuity but for his
artistic taste ; and for a time the directing of the workmen
and the arranging and grouping of the various trophies
282 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
gave fall outlet for all the little energy he had to spend.
When the work was at last complete, he felt quite proud
of his show-room. And, indeed, in the quaint and
beautiful treasures which it contained, it presented an
exhibition quite unique in its way- — an exhibition which
gradually got to be known as one of tlie sights of the
neighbourhood, and which he was delighted to explain to
visitors. Tliere, too, at times he rejoiced to sit amid the
memorials of his varied exploits, and dream himself anew
into fellowship with the stirring days of the past.
By the beginning of August he had so far pulled
himself together that he thought he might venture upon
a brief visit to the British Association meeting at Edin-
burcfh. He was craving to see old friends and have
speech of them, if it were only for an hour or two. The
pilgrimage was still trying, but he returned without
mishap. To find himself brouglit once more into touch
with the stream of scientific life operated as a tonic for
his mind. We do not wonder, therefore, to find him,
immediately after his return, beginning to make plans for
renewed literary activity. An elaborate report for the
British South Africa Company, two articles on Morocco
for a magazine, a paper on his last journey for the Royal
Geographical Society, and, finally, an article for the
Contemporary Review on " The Uganda Problem," abun-
dantly, and withal healthily, occupied all the available
hours of his autumn sojourn at home.
As the latter subject was keenly stirring the public
mind at the time, he felt that, having been the first to
open the way to Uganda (by his Masai-land journey), he
was called to say something upon it.
The Uganda problem amounted simply to this : Shall
we retain it, and if so, how shall we best administer it ?
To the first part of the problem lie had but one possible
answer to give : certainly we should retain it. Disastrous
blunders had been committed and golden opportunities
thrown away through the neglect of his repeated warnings
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 283
and appeals at the time of tlie Emin Pasha Eelief Expe-
dition. But there we are (he said), and there we must
remain to retrieve, if possible, past mistakes. The country
demands it, and our honour is involved in it. Commercially,
indeed, Uganda is at present of no great value. Yet some
day something will be made of it, and we must look ahead
and secure scope for the enterprise of coming generations.
There could be no doubt, however, that morally our holding
of that great central province would be an enormous gain
— a giant's step forward in our anti-slave-trade policy.
In answering the second part of the problem, he stood
forth once more as the advocate of Chartered Companies.
Direct government from the Foreign and Colonial Office
lie liad seen reason profoundly to distrust, as simply a
laying of the dead hand on the development of Africa.
The East Africa Company had indeed erred and suffered
in many things, but it had gained experience, and in the
light of what the Niger Company and British South
Africa Company had accomplished elsewhere, he had not
lost faith in the principle of chartered companies, even as
represented in East Africa. Let the East Africa Company,
therefore, be empowered and encouraged to deal with the
situation, and doubtless the best interests of civilisation
would be served.
What then about a railway to Uganda? Well, the
answer would depend upon how far this country would
feel repaid by moral results. On the commercial side of
the undertaking, he would say there was no prospect of
profitable returns for a very long time. But, as regards
moral effects, there could be no doubt that its influence
would be of simply incalculable value. Next to holding
Uganda itself, the construction of the railway would be
the most killing blow to the slave trade which the end of
the century would be able to show — in doing away with
the need of porters, and rendering the administration at
once cheap and effective in its action. If three millions
would provide such a railway, this country would be abun-
284 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
dantly rewarded for the expenditure, in the good wliich
would thus be done in the opening up of the continent.
Such were his views.
By the time these articles were off his hands, the
raw fogs of late October were beginning to assert their
chilling influence, and he was " wearying to be off with
the swallows after the blessed sunshine." Physically, he
had still been steadily, if not rapidly, reaching forward to
convalescence, although never allowed to forget for a day
or nii^ht that the root trouble still remained to be dealt
O
with. The cheering consciousness of greater strength
nerved him to a new resolution to face further surgical
treatment. Haply it might even yet be given to him to
have days unmarred by pain and nights no longer rendered
miserable by involuntary vigils !
With this prayerful hope in his heart, he hied him to
London in the beginning of November, and there in an-
other nursing home he invoked the skilful attentions of
Dr. Buxton Browne. Thanks to his improved physical
state, good results were immediately apparent, and every
day brought with it some further cheering symptom. It
was with no small measure of grateful joy that he could
say in a letter (November 20th) to Mr. McKie : —
" I have once more escaped from quarantine. I am
greatly improved, and I once more find life worth living,
with Africa looming up invitingly ahead." In that same
letter he says : " I have been lunching with Khodes,
and last night I dined with Nansen, the Arctic explorer,
so you see matters are beginning to look up with me."
The outlook was indeed brightening. Already the
prospect of fitness for active employment was an infiuence
which tingled with thrilling force through all his being,
stranded as he had so long been in helpless unquiet idle-
ness. In his eagerness to be up and at some work, he
was almost impatiently counting the moments till the
call would anew come to him, Indeed, he even sought to
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH APRtCA. 285
anticipate the call, by offering himself to head the new
mission to Uganda which the Government had resolved
upon. He did not really expect the appointment in his
partially convalescent state ; moreover, he had so plainly
spoken out his mind about Government bungling, that he
was quite well aware he was not a persona grata in
official quarters ; but the application helped to keep up
the pleasant feeling that " things were moving " again in
his life, and so far it answered its purpose.
On the 22nd of November he once more appeared
before the Eoyal Geographical Society, his paper this time
]3eing entitled, " To Lake Bangweolo and the Unexplored
Eegion of British Central Africa." He had his wonted
gratifying reception, a crowded meeting and generous
applause, followed by an eml)arrassing multitude of
invitations ; he had indeed frequently to " flourish the
hospital flag " to save himself from his friends.
His application with reference to Uganda came to
nothing, as he had anticipated. But he had already
another string to his bow.
" Ehodes," he informs his friend McKie, " has been
sounding me about going out as the manager of a great
territory north of the Zambesi, but to the west of my
recent travels. Tl)is will suit me very well, and Ehodes
as a ' boss ' is of all bosses tlie most satisfactory to work
for, the very antipodes of McKinnon, who is a man with
imperial views and a parish grasp of them, and wlio
expects to have slaves to deal with, not men."
No doubt it was with reference to this new proposal
that he announced to another correspondent : " I expect
to be off acjain to South Africa about March for new
adventures, and no doubt new diseases, to keep my mmd
and body occupied."
The words were in a sense prophetic ; but the fulfilment
was sadly different from his anticipation. He did go to
South Africa in March; but it was as a disheartened
286 JOSEPH THOMSOK, AFRICAN EXPLOllER.
invalid on a new health-quest. He had just begun to
drink the cup of happiness, in his anticipation of being
able to do some further good and useful work for the
wo];ld, when it was suddenly dashed from liis lips.
A 'propos of a smart and flattering word portrait of him
in a society paper, which tickled his sense of humour
greatly, he wrote thus to one of his intimates : —
" You have no idea what a great man I have become, or
you would treat me with more awe than you seem disposed
to do. "What do you thiuk of me having blossomed out
into ' the best dressed African traveller in London ? '
There's fame for you ! I blush, however, while I quote
further that I am ' a deuced handsome fellow,'' with ' frock
coats built by the best tailor money can procure, and
standing over six feet in his patent leathers.' No wonder
it is a mystery to the writer ' that Joseph Thomson of
Africa has up to this escaped matrimony,' for he is
' blessed with a plenitude of good looks, and has a tidy
sum of siller ! ' After that there is nothing for you to do
but fall down and worship. Fame, however, has come so
suddenly that I have not been able to realise it properly,
and I am going off to the wilderness of Eastbourne for
meditation until Monday. ... I have been very much
bothered with a cold these last few days, which has
prevented my appearance in Piccadilly to give tone to
that haunt of fashion."
The cold, which he thus light-heartedly referred to,
proved to be more serious than he imagined. When he
reached his friends at Eastbourne, he had to confine
himself to the house all the time. The attack was further
aggravated by the return journey, and he was only fit for
his bed. In the evening after his return he entertained
Dr. and ]\Irs. Hugh Eoljert Mill at dinner in his rooms.
He had promised to attend afterwards the hundredth
representation of his friend Barrie's play, " Walker
A HEALTH-QUEST iK SOUTH AFPJCA. 287
London," and, when liis guests were leaving, he woiikl
insist on keeping his word, notwithstanding the earnest
remonstrances of both. The result was an attack of
severe pneumonia.
The New Year of 1893 dawned u})on him lying in
uttermost prostration, hovering between life and death.
The illness was one quite exceptional in its character, no
definite crisis ever being passed, and curious complications
arising, due, as the doctors thought, to the presence of
African fever. One thing, however, was only too soon
evident to those who were in attendance, and that was
that the lung was seriously affected. In the whole cir-
cumstances, the case was felt to be peculiarly grave. The
only hope for him lay in his being able to gather sufficient
strength to allow of his facing a voyage to South Africa.
From Africa he had come fifteen months before to be
cured, and now, in the new situation of things, he must
simply reverse the process.
It seemed to the medical experts very much a forlorn
hope ; but, weakened though his magnificent constitution
was, from the almost incalculable strain of his troubles
during the past two years, there was still in him a reserve
of vitality which surprised his advisers. By the end of
January he had rallied sufficiently to be taken to Bourne-
mouth in charge of a nurse. Thither the writer of this
narrative liastened also, in the hope that a breath of
the home fellowship might cheer the sufferer's hours of
prostration, and keep him from being quite crushed in
spirit liy his misfortunes. Other devoted friends, such as
Dr. Calder, Mr. Thomas McKie, and Sir James Crichton-
Browne, likewise rallied around him, personally or other-
wise, and planned to show that loving sympathy which he
so sorely needed.
As may well be supposed, he had little heart, as well as
little strength, for correspondence with even his most
intimate acquaintances. Only one of his notes, scribbled
with a trembling hand, we give here, for the sake of the
288 JOSEPH THOMSON, AJ'RICAN EXPLORER.
little self-description it coutains. It is to Mr. INIcKie
(February 18) : —
- " Your last letter, extolling the curative merits of
Nature to the mind and soul diseased, found a most
sympathetic reader in me. From my boyhood upwards, I
have been a kind of pantheist, revelling in the primrose
banks, the singing of the birds, and the wimpling of the
burns over stony beds. Would that the primroses were
there, and I fit to lie among them ! But there will, I am
afraid, be many weary months before my eyes are
gladdened by the golden glory of the simple flower. To-
day, here, one might well think they ought to be out and
flourishing, so bright is the sunshine, and so balmy the
air ; but, unfortunately, it is only the first good day we
have had for over a week.
" Matters ai-e with me much as when I wrote last. It
is a little discouraging to think that I have been here for
over three weeks and can hardly say that I am any
stronger than when I left London. Whenever will I get
to South Africa at that rate ? However, I must hope for
the best. I trust you will soon let me have another of
your inspiring letters."
His progress continued, indeed, to be tantalisingly slow.
In London he had shrunk from the idea of going to South
Africa. Now he was longing to be off, seeing that even
the genial climate of the south coast could do so little for
him. But, apparently, if he was to get away at all, he
must resort to heroic measures, and set off weak or strong.
With this resolution in his mind, he returned to London
in the middle of March, to consult with his medical ad-
visers. They had much misgiving as to his proposal, for,
as a matter of fact, they scarcely believed he could reach
South Africa alive. But, as he was determined in his
purpose, they gave their reluctant consent. Immediately,
he arranged, therefore, to set sail in the Hcnvarden Castle
A HEALTH-QUEST IK SOUTH AFRICA. 2S9
on the 25tli. In liis good-bye letter to Mr. McKie
(March 19) he says : —
" My next Sunday will be at sea, entering the dreaded
Bay of Biscay ; but I shall be glad to have got away from
Modern Babylon, even as Lot no doubt rejoiced to find
himself safe out of the cities of the plain.
"My plans, after reaching the Cape, are still a trifle
hazy. Only I have to go up somewhere to the plateau,
and there spend two or three months on my back in the
open air. Isn't that a most agreeable prospect, in a place
wdiere there are no primrose-banks, no shady trees with
singing birds, no wimpling burns, no grass even — only the
purest and driest of air, the bluest of skies, and sometimes
tlie hottest of suns ?
"My news, as usual, are of the scantiest. For tlie time
Ijeing, the world circles round me, and I see and do
nothing. How I envy you your varied activities and
useful works ! As for me, with a considerable part of my
lung gone, my African career is practically ended, and
what to turn to next is more than I can imagine. My
best plan will just be to stay out in South Africa, and do
rny best to commence life anew. This is not exactly what
I had pictured for the latter half of my life."
Happily, the fears of his friends with respect to the
voyage were falsified. He stood it astonishingly well ; in
fact, he improved day by day.
"Providence," he wrote, "w\as kind, and partly tem-
pered the winds to the shorn lamb, and partly adapted the
shorn lamb to the stormy winds, so that I escaped, for the
first time in my experience, without an hour's sea-sick-
ness. Tiien everybody was very ol)liging, and Sir Donald
Currie and Sir Charles Mitchell (who were also taking the
voyage) vied with each other in doing everything they
could for my comfort."
At Cape Town Mr. anl ]\Ir\ Noble were waiting to
u
290 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFIUCAN EXPLOllER.
bestow upon him, as befora, their hospitable attentions.
In that place, however, it was not fitting that he should
linger. On the advice of Dr. Douglas, he decided to
hasten on to the station of Matjesfontein. The journey
was, as far as possible, shorn of its discomforts, through
the very kind invitation of Sir Charles Mitcliell that lie
should go on with him in his special train. He describes
his impressions on the journey thus : —
" The route from Cape Town to Matjesfontein lies along
a narrow valley or glen enclosed by rugged barren rocky
mountains of the most impressive and picturesque charac-
ter. These grow wilder as we penetrate the country.
Other changes occur simultaneously. The sky takes a
deeper blue, the air grows cooler and drier, till it becomes
perfectly exhilarating. At last, at an elevation of over
three thousand feet, the track reaches the edge of the
Karoo, and a few miles further on Matjesfontein, a little
artificial oasis in a barren narrow valley, lies before us.
Matjesfontein consists of a station, and a conglomeration
of houses, which collectively form Logan's Hotel. Eound
these have been planted a number of eucalyptus trges,
kept alive by irrigation. All else is monotonous, grass-
less. The sole attractions are the matchlessly pure air,
the floods of l)right sunshine, the marvellously deep blue
sky, and, at sunset, colours which transform tlie stern
mountains into things of beauty and an endless joy. Yet
here we have our electric light, our swimming-bath, and
our lawn tennis ground."
In this lonely and secluded spot he spent a couple of
months, getting what amusement he might from reading,
watching the passing trains, and studying the varied
characters who visited the hotel. Some of tliese were not
a little interesting. For instance, he writes thus to his
father : —
" There is a Mr. here, who, before he was twenty,
had been in the diamond trade, a lieutenant in tlie French
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH APEICA. 291
army during the great war, a war-correspondent, a farmer
in Normandy. At twenty he had got out to Kimberley,
and since then he has been diamond-digger, gold-miner,
ostrich-breeder, engine-driver, farmer, clerk, newspaper-
reporter, editor, and finally, secretary to a millionaire,
who had commenced life sellinn' oranges on the street,
and laid the foundations of his fortune in buying stray
diamonds out here. Then he has written a novel, divorced
a wife, shot a man, lost a hand, got every bone of his body
broken, or nearly so, and is now pretty nearly a physical
and moral wreck, tlianks to his too great love for whisky.
That shows you what queer people one meets in such
places as South Africa."
A notability of a very different sort here made her
home — Olive Schreiner. He was very anxious to become
more closely acquainted with a personality so interesting ;
but, concomitantly with a bettered condition in his general
health, he for some weeks lost his voice, and his conse-
cpient inability to keep up a conversation, together with
the lady's natural reticence, almost entirely thwarted his
wish.
By the middle of June lie iiad obtained all the ad\an-
tage which Matjesfontein seemed likely to give iiiiu, and
the monotony of the place was beginning to have a
depressing effect. ]\lr. iJhodes, hearing of this, did au
exceedingly kind thing. He wrote, advising him to go
on to Kiml)erley, where there was equally healthful dry
air, and more life and enjoyment for an invalid. He
offered to place the De Beers house at his disposal as
long as he wished to remain, and even in a delicate way
proposed to make him free of his purse also, if there
should be any occasion for using it.
A proposal so generous and unexpected acted as a
tonic to his spirits.
" Talk of striking gold ! " he writes laughingly to his
mother ; '■' that is sometliing like striking it rich ! Only
U 2
292 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOREII.
a matter of putting out your hand — no mining, no trouble.
Just like natural gas or petroleum, it comes right away.
How nice and soft, too, to find such a portly bag between
me and ' the rocks ' ! I must really hurry up and get
through my own humble purse, so that with a better
grace I may attack his. IMeanwhile, I am going to be
content with his house, which will have many advantages
over an hotel, and I will take my meals at the club, which
is just about opposite. It is really very good of Ehodes
to make me so free of his house and purse, considering
that, after all, what little I have had to do with him has
been purely on a business footing."
On June 19th he writes to his fatlier : —
" Here I am once more in Kimberley, safe and — I was
going to say sound — but for that I shall have to wait
some time longer. I hadn't well left Matjesfontein
liefore I began to feel the benefit of the change, and I
quite enjoyed the journey. 1 have got a charming cottage
all to myself, with a man and his wife at my command.
This of course makes me very independent. I am only
sorry I did not come a month sooner. Here there is
greater warmth and steadier weather, and it is deliglitful
to sit out in the veranda all day, though in the mornings
the temperature falls to freezing point. . . . One thing is
certain, I am sleeping and eating as I have not done since
I landed in South Africa — and what better signs could a
person have ? "
A medical examination led to a report which cheered
him greatly. Already the dry and equable climate ot
South Africa was telling beneficially upon him. This
was, no doubt, all tlie more distinctly the case owing to
the fact that he had no hereditary weakness or predis-
position to lung trouble to reckon with, and the natural
soundness of his constitution was even now telling
enormously in his favour. These encouraging circum-
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 293
stances, with the quickening influence of the life and
movement around him, brought back, for a time at least,
something of his old spirit of jocularity. He must, in
imagination, have a laugh with a kindred spirit, even
though his own ills were the subject of his fanciful sallies.
It is thus that he discourses to Gilmour (2 6th June) : —
"For the last two months my soul has been in sore
travail. I have been dying to write to you, and yet
written I have not. My one hope is that you have
divined why. . . . During all these years I have devoted
myself to writing about nothing but geography, and now
when geography fails me I am stumped. Thus doth
Nature revenge herself for neglect !
" But why look l)ack ? With career closed and heart
speechless, with my inside being gradually etherealised,
and my outer man fading away, there is but one course
open for me, and that is to prepare for an appropriate end
in the warm, all-embracing Heart of Africa. With my
knowledge of the country, I can foresee exactly every
step of the road, every incident even unto the end ; and
to prevent mistakes I mean to sketch it all out and leave
it behind. I am not going to run the risk of having
some future biographer make out that I died of cramp in
the stomach, wdien in reality 1 died (if I may say so
while still alive) with the Spirit of Africa at my lips.
You weep, mon ami; but dry your tearfu' ee. Let your
soul only be possessed with a sweet melancholy till the
right time comes.
" How will this title do ? The Last TEAJir, or How
Thomson found the true Spirit of Africa, and pegged out
his last claims on the Darh Continent.
"How clearly it all rises before me! The uplifting
of the ' banner with a strange device,' the pocket spittoon,
and the bottle of cod-liver oil safely stowed away — the
Ideal in one eye. Enthusiasm in the other. There ! the
supreme moment has come. Ou my bosom blades a
2Q4 .TOSEP}[ THo^rSOX, AFIUCAX l-lNTT.Or.F.R.
]il;iciii-tl, uii wliicli he wliu inns may read ' JvM.-rlsiur ! "
with the annouucement that I have got a cold, to explain
the absence of ' clarion notes.' But it is on the closing
scene that I pride myself, and I flatter myself it will
'fetch' the lady fellows of the Geographical, if there are
any. I shall not spoil it, however, by even hinting what
it is like.
" But you doubtless want to know something of me.
AVhat a fall is there to turn from the thought of Quests,
Destinies, and Spirits to mc ! Why ask me to look back
on my movements, when the forward and future ones are
so much more romantic ? . . .
" I now write to you under the electric light, with
a good log fire blazing beside me. I write, indeed, at
fever heat — a personal temperature of 103° in the best
shade my inner man can supi)ly — so you might think I
did not need fires. You will be interested to learn that
a kindly Providence has provided me with a counter-
irritant. My kidneys have so far forgot their proper
duties that they have taken to manufacturing stones,
which with the sweat of my brow and sad groans, I
contrive to quarry and get to the surface. Can this have
anything to do with early associations ?
" However, amid all the ups and downs, one thing is
quite clear ; there is always gi'adual progress. ]My last
week's experience of Kimberley has been most promising,
so in another month I may continue my journey north — -
perhaps as far as ]\Iafeking or Johannesberg."
A continuance of the healing process gave him some
heart to mingle with the society of Kimberley and to
interest himself in the life of the place. At the club
where he took his meals there was always a competition
for seats at his table, and although he could seldom be
induced to give any reminiscences of his pioneering
exploits — a thing he always disliked doing — he was ever
ready to enter into discussion, or to take part in the
A HEAT/L'H-Q[-KST IX SOUTH Al-TJCA. 295
bauter that was going ; and, Avitli his courteous ways and
keen good-humoured badinage, he rapidly made friends
all round.
The members of the club with whom he was more
especially intimate jokingly spoke of him as "Topson."
The reference was to a little incident that occurred at the
clul) before it had become generally known who he was,
and which a friend thus narrates : " On one occasion when
the talk had drifted on to the native question, a leading
legal luminary of Kimberley said in Thomson's presence
tliat he had just been reading in an Eastern Province
paper a remarkable article in which was mentioned
* Joseph Topson of Masai-land fame,' and remarked, ' I
suppose that is the famous Thomson, the great African
explorer.' He was rather nonplussed when he was
confirmed by the ' great African explorer ' himself.
Thenceforth the name Topson stuck to him and was a
kind of password on the lips of his familiars."
The time of his sojourn in Kimberley was coincident
with the Llashonaland crisis and the expedition against
the Matabele, which issued so victoriously and — as it
seemed at the time — finally, for the Chartered Company's
forces. In the questions involved in that crisis his
sympathies were wholly with the Company. He felt
indignant at tlie vacillation and irresolution of tlie home
Government, and saw in the brilliant success of Eliodes
and his little force a notable object lesson as to the
usefulness of Chartered Companies. Ehodes, he thought,
had proved himself in that affair " a born ruler of men,"
and he was heartily at one with all Kimberley in singing
his praises. " In my opinion," he said, " there never was
a more justifialjle war, nor one more humanely carried
through." He grew quite warm in inveighing against
what he considered the " scandalous misrepresentations "
which appeared here in such papers as Truth.
" It has," he remarked, " been a constant wonder to me,
29G JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
"Nvho have always been a great admirer of the really
splendid work that Labonchere has done at home, how in
this case he has been seized with such a strange fit of
madness, using recklessly any foul weapon that came to
hand, so that he might blacken the character of the
Company and their servants. More than once I have
been on the point of writing to The Times, to do my little
best to enlighten the public at home, who on things of this
sort are so easily misled."
And again : —
" There is no better answer to all the attacks on IJhodes
tlian the absolute faith reposed in him out here. If he is
only working for himself, it is the people of these parts
who should know it best, and who would suffer first.
But they give their confidence, their money and their sons
without stint into his keeping, satisfied that he is working
in the best interests of the country, although not over-
looking his own interests."
Josepli Thomson had, of course, had good reason person-
ally to be fa^■ourably impressed with Mr. Rhodes. But
he was too wide-awake and independent, and withal too
conscientious a man to be an indiscriminate eulogist. A
phenomenon like this " South African Dictator " was a
subject that challenged a critical study ; and it was not
difficult (especially when he came to see more nearly the
man's influence and action in relation to the politics of
the country) to recognise many things strange and even
repellent in him.
" You mustn't imagine," ho writes to Mr. McKie, " that
I am an an out-and-out admirer of Ehodes. He is a man
with terribly grave faults and many weak points. He is
unscrupulous to a degree in carrying out his schemes,
although no one who knows him properly can fail to
be struck with intense admiration at t]ie greatness of ]ii§
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 297
plans and ideas. His education is that of tlie mining
camp grafted on a University training, and he conse-
quently often expresses himself and acts in a manner
calculated to shock people at home, accustomed to the
refined statesman full of suave language. How can you
at home appreciate the character of a premier who delights
to hang about a club bar, drinking whiskies and sodas,
while with a word here and there between he settles the
affairs of a country half the size of Europe. He would be
an impossible person in England; but for South Africa
he is simply the ideal man, and througliout the length
and breadth oT the country he is recognised as such."
The rapid healing of the lung secured for tlio invalid an
increasing margin of strength, which he could pleasantly
spend in outdoor exercise. In studying the various
aspects of camp life about Kimberley, in driving and
walking on the veldt, or down to Beaconsfield and the
Pan, he found at first sufficient scope. Gradually he
widened his rambling sphere. Drives out to the Vaal
Eiver Diggings, twenty miles off, to Mr. Paton's farm
on the Hartz River, fifty miles off, and to the Jagers-
fontein Diamond Mines, eighty miles off, show the rising
scale of his roving ambitions.
His advance in health was, however, not without its
chastening interruptions. The glare and dust of Kim-
berley developed a very painful ulcer on his eyeball, and
for two months, under bandages, he had to do without
the sight of his friends or the so] ace of books. Then the
old wearing bladder trouble returned upon him with its
agonising worries, giving him further unwelcome oppor-
tunity of searching for " the soul of good in things evil."
Few men have ever been more tried by a terrible con-
catenation of life's ills. Surely, if he had not been pos-
sessed with a heroic patience, and an almost phenomenal
bravery of heart, he could hardly have survived his
manifold baffling disappointments.
208 josF.rH THOj\rsoK afpjcan Kxrr-n]ri:i^.
It is iiut surprisiug that in .such circumstuiiccs he
sliould have craved with a great hunger for the sympathy
of tho.se he loved, and that he should often have counted
the hours till letters should come to keep up the sense
of fellowship with friends in the home country. Here
is one of his appeals to an intimate whose letters he
prized, but whose absorbing occupation made his com-
munications less frequent than was desired — and beneath
the bantering pleasantry of it the undertone of yearning is
sufficiently evident : —
"A thousand thanks for all your good intentions to
write to me. Hardly a mail has passed without my
hearing from some one or other that you were going to
send me a letter. You have in this manner laid up mucli
treasure for yourself in my heart. I mention this now
l)ccause you may have thought that I did not sufficiently
appreciate your aspirations. Some people, of course,
would prefer a little performance to much aspiration —
but you and I know better ! Let us leave to the prosaic
worm the satisfaction of looking back upon its little spiral
of earth. For us, the clouds for chariots, hitched on to
stars and comets ! What though we become lost in
si)ace ? We have for the time been nearer to the gods
and the gates of heaven.
"With our friend Browning we know that to value a
man we must take into account his aspirations as well as
his acts. Thanks then, my dear , for all the letters
you have intended to write. Thanks for the budget of
news, the good stories which you have noted in your
mind to communicate to me. How pleasant it has been
for me to picture you from time to time — a glass of
whisky at your side and a cigar between your teeth, your
face lighted up with the virtuous intention of writing to
me ' to-morrow, or the next day, or at least some day
soon.' Such pictures as these keep a fellow from
becoming pessimistic.
A HKALTR-QUEST IN SOUTH AF]tir,A. 200
" "I'is s:i<I 1m tliiiik, liowovcr, Ili;it lite i> Ion slmii t'ni-
[jerioi'iiiaiice.
' Le jour est breve ;
TJn peu d'espoir,
Un peu de reve,
Et puis bon soir.' "
It was inevitable that the consciousness of reviving
vigour should turn his mind to thoughts of action. His
craving to be of use somewhere and somehow was irre-
pressible, and liowever often it might be tliwarted, was
ever anew asserting itself. Mr. Ehodes had gi\'en him to
understand tliat as soon as he should be fit for work he
had a mission for him in Mashonaland. The nature of
that mission he did not know, but he kept it before
liis mind's eye with an ever-increasing eagerness to be
launching his wdiole self into it. The life of an incipient
colony, with its manifold unlovely features, was indeed
a thing M'hicli he had no joy in contemplating, and with
M'hich he had no craving to identify himself. But. as lie
somewhat liitterly put it, " broken-down African travellers,
like beggars, could not be choosers."
'•' You will not be surprised," he writes to Edward Clodd
(December 4th), " that my thoughts are more and more
turning towards Mashonaland, not as a thing to be looked
forward to with ]:)leasure, but as something inevitable, as
my fate. After having given fifteen years of the best of
my life to Africa and sacrificed my liealtli in seeking ' the
bubble reputation ' in its noxious wilds, I find I am only
fit for Africa, having learned nothing that the world at
home can make use of I must therefore ' dree my weird '
with the best grace and heart ])Ossil)le, and bury up my
hopes and dreams as quickly as I can. We are expecting
Rhodes here soon on his way south from his victorious
campaign, and I shall then have a talk with him and find
out what sort of job I may look forward to. He has been
extremely kind ... I certainly have been extraordinarily
300 JOSEPH TnOMSON, AFKICAN EXPLORER.
lucky in finding so many good and generous friends
wlierever I have gone. That fact has, 1 think, kept me
from becoming altogether soured by all the calamities I
have experienced lately."
The opening of 1894 came to find him anxiously waiting
for his marching orders. It was not till the beginning of
February, however, that he got speech of Ehodes at
Kimberley on his way south from Mashonaland. But it
was just the height of the election fever, and " the great
man " was surrounded by a crowd of people pushing their
several interests, and had his mind occupied witli a
thousand other concerns. It was only a word, therefore,
that he could get from him, and that pointed to furtlier
delay pending the settlement of matters with the lionie
Government.
To have his hopes of getting once more into harness
thus thrown back affected him, as may well be understood,
with a profound feeling of disappointment. But when
the first keen pain of this was past, the new delay had the
effect of throwing him in upon himself in the way of
self-questioning. Was he really, sufficiently recovered to
face afresh the hardships of pioneering life ? And, now
that his lung was practically cured, might it not be
beneficial to consolidate his recovery by a summer spent
in the atmosphere of his native place ? The more he
meditated on tlie matter, the mure the longing gre^^' npon
him to visit once more the home scenes, and to look upon
" the old familiar faces."
A month or two longer he lingered on enjoying the
nnrivalled weather of the South African early winter.
But at last he took his resolution, and thus writes on
April 10th to his friend Clodd : —
" I had made up my mind to go north this year, but
unfortunately, as the time has come near to take the
necessary steps, I have been compelled reluctantly to
come to the conclusion that such a movement is quite
A HEALTH-QUEST IN SOUTH AFRICA. 30l
premature. I find that, though in a measure practically
cured, I have as yet accumulated no reserve of strength
and health such as is essential to any one who means to
face the hardships that still await the traveller even in
Mntabeleland. I foresee that I would run great risks
of once more breaking down — and to break down again
would be the death of me.
" In these circumstances I have made up my mind to
run home and once more see my friends under happier
conditions than I saw them last, and under their inspiring
influence lay in a supply of courage to face whatever life
may have in store for me, as also the necessary fighting
material in the way of blood and muscle, and refitted
organs.
" If nothing unexpected comes in the way, then, I shall
be with you all in the beginning of June. I'ray that
there be sunshine and dry bracing breezes to greet me on
my arrival, and make me feel that England is still the
country for me."
From Capo Town, on May IGth, he said his farewell to
Kiral)erley, and also to Africa, in the following telegram :
"Just leaving, with grateful recollections of Kimberley
Club, climate, hospitality, and good fellowship. CJood-bye,
till we meet again."
302 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOKEE.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CLOSE OF TIIK I'lLGULMAc IK.
It was witli iiu .•^luall regret and luisLiiviiig that liis
friends in South Africa saw liini preparinjf for so soon
leaving its shores. They feared, not without reason, the
effect of the humid and uncertain climate of the home
country upon him, and did what they might to change his
purpose. But wlien he had thought over a plan and come
to a resolution, lie was not easily to be moved from it.
It was one of the defects of his qualities. He had been
forced by the very circumstances of his career to rely so
entirely upon his own judgment and to decide so constantly
for himself, that he had almost lost the habit of submitting
to advice. He was giateful for the solicitude shown, but
he thought it best to adliere to ]iis purpose. In tlie
sanguine hopefulness of his spirit, lie pictured himself
returning in tlie near future with body and mind in-
vigorated, to render some further service to his beloved
continent.
The passage home was an ideal one for health and
pleasure. Not a ripple from Cape Town to Plymouth.
Day by day bright sunshine, and balmy Ijreezes, and
everything to make the time pass agreeably. It was an
experience to inspire him with cheering anticipations.
Alas, that the prologue to his home-coming should have
been so delusive ! The warm and bracing weather which
he had bespoken in his heart was never realised. The
summer of 1804 proved ungenial and precarious beyond
THE CLOSE OF THE PILGRIMAGE. 303
common. Gloomy skies, cold clamp winds, and general
>miserableness were the things that awaited him ; and
upon the sensitive constitution of oiie in his semi-
invalid condition they told with a depressing and hurtful
effect.
His renewal of accpiaintance with the hume climate was
inaugurated fitly though unfortunately by a had wetting
as he was leaving the ship at Plymouth. In the joy of
his arrival he paid no attention to it at the time. But he
was soon reminded by the return of his fever that the
untoward circumstance was not to pass without effect.
So high did his temperature rise that another attack of
pneumonia seemed imminent. ]£appily the illness fell
short of that ; but already he was realising that the dry
and sunny south was the only safe quarter for him. Pity
that he did not content himself with a flitting visit home
and a mere hurried glimpse of loved ones, and then
immediately retrace his course to Africa. For, as it was,
every step of the way now was marked by failing strength,
and slowly but surely the possibility of return was passing
beyond his reach.
His health-quest of the past thirteen months had issued
in great improvement ; but what he had gained was from
the very first mortgaged in the attempt to act as if lie
were no longer an invalid. He had so inany warm friends
in London, all anxious to show by hospitable invitations
and otherwise their joy at his convalescence, and he
himself was so fain to respond, that he quite overtaxed his
strength. By the time he was able to set his face
towards his destination in the north country, he had lost
more than he could afford of the little treasure of health
which he had so slowly gathered. He himself did not fail
to note the fact. On the eve of his leaving London
(June 14), he writes to Mr. Noble in Cape Town : —
" I have been going on very rashly since I came home.
It is a marvel I have not come a genuine cropper. How-
304 JOSEPH THOMSON, Af'RICAN EXPLORER.
ever, that is at an end now. To-morrow I am off to
Scotland, where I shall be in peace and quietness under my
mother's wing for a time. . . . The doctors recommend
me to leave the country for the winter. I shall, therefore,
probably go to North Africa for a change^ and then, if all
goes well, I shall be out next year oi route for the
Earotse Country and a grand final burst up."
The journey to Scotland proved too much for liim. He
arrived quite exhausted, and forthwitli he found himself
once more in the deep waters of affliction, the victim of a
continuous fever which confined him to bed. It was
grievously disheartening. He was naturally unwilling to
let himself believe " that there was not a land of promise
ahead," but there was only too obvious cause for disquiet.
His old troubles were returning upon him, like insatiate
birds of prey which had only been temporarily frightened
away from their quarry, and it was not long before he had
to confess himself completely overwhelmed. No wonder
that he should have, for the moment, lost heart amid so
many calamitous reverses. On the 31st of July he writes
to Edward Clodd : —
" I am in a very bad way*. Since I came to Scotland I
have been nearly completely prostrate, mentally and
physically, thanks to fever, starvation, and a harassing
throat cough. In three weeks I have lost twelve of my
precious pounds of flesh and I have never regained them.
The cough happily has been subdued, Imt the fever sticks
to me. I would just like to have some sort of ordinary
painful illness and be laid up in bed ; but this feeling of
simple collapse sickens me. I cannot even read. Tor
some days I have had Kidd's ' Social Evolution ' beside
me, and for the life of me I cannot muster up courage to
open it. . . . How I wish I were going to Norway with
you. I believe the sea voyage in those bracing parts
would be the saving of me; but I cannot move at
present."
THE CLOSE OF THE PILGRIMAGE. 305
But, though he might be in the depths, wliat he felt
in the way of depression he scrupulously concealed from
those about him. He was magnanimous in his considera-
tion for those he loved. As he moved about the old
home wearily passing the long days of that inclement
summer, he knew how hearts around him wei'e suffering
in sympathy, and he ever strove to dissemble his miseries
for their sakes. His silence did not deceive those who
were eager to cheer him with affectionate ministries, and
his attempts at airy lightness in replying to the daily
inquiries only touched them with a sense of pathos. But
never would lie suffer a complaint or a word of fretfulness
to pass his lips. One day his mother, hungering, mother-
like, to lavish tender attentions upon him, gently remon-
strated with him for making so little call upon her
sympathy. His reply was characteristic : " Mother, why
should I sadden you with the story of my ills ? They
are a thousand and one."
In the close of the summer he so far pulled himself
together as to pay a brief visit to Greenock and Edinburgh.
This effort over, he lingered for a few weeks more at
Gatelawbridge, where at last the sun was condescending
to become cordial in his shining. But when the sharper
air of late September began to make itself felt, it came
as a pointed reminder that he must seek a more southerly
clime. A last lingering look at the scenes of boyhood's
happy memories, a quiet good-bye in which one hardly
dared to utter words — and the oft-broken chapter of his
life in lovely Nithsdale was finally closed.
It was as " a subdued and disheartened man " that he
resumed his pilgrimage, and he went forth, as he harl
never felt himself to do before, with a profound sense of
loneliness. For a few days he lingered in London. On
the 4th of October he set sail for Naples. He chose to
go by sea in the hope that the few days of sailing would
have a reviving effect. The hope was not fulfilled. He
arrived in a very prostrate condition, and he landed only
X
306 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
to find Xaples under the unhappy influence of a sirocco.
For days the deep blue sky which he had longed to see
■was hidden in a dull haze, and sea and mountain were
alike invisible.
A little time, however, brought alleviations without and
within, and he was enabled, though in a forlorn way,
to wander or sit in the public gardens and enjoy the
shade of pine, palm, and evergreen oak. Sight-seeing at
first was of course beyond him. The one impression of
Naples in those first days which he was pre-eminently
conscious of was the prevalence of evil smells ; but in
writing of this he added, with a gleam of his old humour :
" Even the stinks have a certain melancholy interest for
me, as they indicate that there are microbes with which
as yet I have made no acquaintance, and which may
enable me to die in the odour of — well, let us say
sanctity."
Even one thought of drollery was so far a favourable
sign, and as a matter of fact he was conscious of slowly
I'allying — an augury for the future which he was only
too eager to note. " I mean," he writes, " to pick up the
shattered fragments of hope and piece them, as well as I
can, together again." Doubtless the resolution helped
to a certain extent to secure its own fulfilment. Be that
as it may, lie did gain ground. Cooler and more healthful
weather also helped to put him on his feet again, and
presently he could write of himself as "hastening with
his Murra]) and a thankful heart " to see the lions of the
place. The churches and the museum were special objects
of interest to him. In them he spent much of his time.
It was his good fortune here, as everywhere in his wan-
derings, to fall in with agreeable friends. Sir Wemyss
Eeid, whom he had met on the voyage out, was extremely
kind in his attentions. A number of companionable and
warm-hearted Americans also helped wonderfully to do
away with tlie sense of tedium so ojjpressive to an invalid.
One of these knew his chum and fellow-explorer Dn
THE CLOSE OF THE PILGRIMAGE. 307
Chaillii, and that itself was a bond of friendship to draw
them together.
As his various internal enemies became more quiescent,
he was glad to seize opportunities of venturing out into
the open and feasting eye and heart on the natural
charms of the neighbourhood. His keen relish for the
beautiful in scenery never failed him ; indeed there was
nothing that took him so perfectly away from himself
or so helped to quicken the languid pulse of life. In
December he writes to his sister-in-law at Greenock : —
" Naples is a place to see and leave, not a town to live
in. Its streets are narrow, noisy, foul-smelling, and
sunless, without a single building having the slightest
claims to architectural beauty. They swarm with shrill-
voiced hawkers, clamorous cabmen, and loathsome beggars.
But outside, how different ! There ISTaples spreads itself
out, a thing of beauty. Its mean square villas and
so-called palaces become picturesque, seen scrambling
up the sides of the hill singly or in groups. The dirty
whites and measly yellows become transformed under
the magic influence of the brilliant mid-day sun, and glow
with a marvellous beauty in the more witching light of
the setting sun. And beside it stands Vesuvius clothed
in purple, like the protective giant it is, while the blue
sea cools its feet in lapping wavelets, and the blue sky
spreads over all. But all this is seen from a little
distance. Go inside and you will find that you have
been admiring a painted sepulchre."
In the middle of December he left for a short sojourn
of ten days in Capri. This charming island captivated
him at first sight, though he had not the good fortune to
see it under the best of weather conditions. It seemed
to him the very "pearl of the Mediterranean — a place
made only for sunshine and balmy breezes."
.^' This," he writes to his mother, " is the most delight fully
X :^'
308 JOSEPH THOMSOX, AFEICAN EXPLORER.
picturesque island you can imagine. Enormous cliffs,
overhanging the bluest of blue seas, orange and olive
groves with vineyards nestling in all sorts of snug corners,
old castles and ancient Eoman palaces crowning every
height, while quaint whitewashed villages spread them-
selves out on the sunny slopes. Most wonderful of all,
there are no beggars, no hawkers to weary the life out of
one, none of the vile smells nor the viler sights of Naples
— every one clean and bright and tidy, and every one
cheerful and polite, so that Capri seems a veritaljle little
ocean paradise in these southern seas."
After leaving Capri he spent two days in surveying the
beauties of Sorrento, and then returned via Pompeii to
Naples. At Naples the weather was lovely, but he had
had enough of the place and was not tempted to linger
in it. He had made up his mind to spend his Christmas
at Palermo, and thither he sped as soon as possible.
The warmer air of I'alermo suited him well, and if he
could only have had the warmth which his heart more
and more craved for — the warmth of loving fellowship —
he would have been quite satisfied. As it was, the
return of the festive Christmas season, with its reminders
of family and friendly gatherings in the home country,
painfully emphasised his sense of separation.
" I suppose," he says in a letter to Mrs. Gilmour, " I
sliould be more or less discontented wherever I went,
playing the ro/c of the invalid. It is not a stimulating
one, and becomes indeed frightfully wearisome when
enacted companionless in foreign parts. The incessant
change of faces, acquaintanceships nipped in the bud
by the signal to move on, which is the . characteristic of
hotel life, the feeling of being more or less alone in all
this seething current — these are conditions which prevent
me enjoying myself. It is all so different, of course, when
one is in really good health, for then one is a world in
THE CLOSE OP THE riLGllIMAGE. 309
one's self, independent of everybody, and only evilly
affected by the weather.
" You can understand then how at tliis time ray
tlioughts wander back to my friends in England, till I
l)ecomc green with envy at the thought of their fireside
gatherings with delightful interchange of gossip and
thought and fun. How happy you all seem with your
fogs or rains or snow outside, and your cosy rooms, bright
fires, and all the rest inside ! If you think of me in
brilliant sunshine wandering through olive or orange
groves, seeing tliis picturesque scene or that wonderful
building, do not envy me for a moment. Do not wish
that you also were there ; but with all your heart thank
goodness that you are where you are, and wish that I was
with you,"
"With the advent of 1895, the weather in Palermo com-
pletely broke down, and there ensued a comfortless time
of gloom, and cold, and wet — sleet-showers driving people
from the streets, and clothing the hills around with a
wintry white ; while even inside the house it seemed
almost impossible to get warm. In these circumstances
he was only too glad to strike his tent once more, and
steal away after the sunshine.
Taormina was his next resting-place. This he reached
by way of Catania.
" There never was a more fortunate change of resi-
dence," he writes on January 2Gth, to Mr. McKie. " ¥ov
three weeks I have been here, and all the time it has
been the most delightful weather imaginable — notliing
but cloudless blue skies, bright warm sunshine and soft
caressing breezes.
" And what a landscape to look at, by merely turning
my eye from this paper ! A many-coloured sea, with a
lovely curving shore, stretching away south to Syracuse ;
Etna, rising from the rippling waters, with its mantle of
snow and its heart of lire. Nearer on the left are the
310 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFMCAN EXPLOKEK.
picturesque crags and bold limestone peaks of Taormina,
crowned by Norman castles — the town itself forming a
straggling zone of medieval churches, monasteries falling
into ruins, dilapidated Gothic palaces, from which beggars
look out at the windows, battlemented walls, Greek
theatres and temples, Eoman aqueducts and tombs taking
back one's imagination to the dawn of history — and a
score of other points of grandeur, beanty, or historic
interest. I am sure that there is not such another sjiot in
all Italy. To add to it all, the Hotel Timeo is most de-
lightfully situated, most cosy, clean, and thoroughly well
managed — has in fact but one fault : nothing to read."
To all these charms of Nature and art he gave himself
up with growing pleasure, looking down with dreamy
restfulness upon the blue, ever-sounding sea, giving his
cheek to the caresses of the soft air, and bathing in the
warm sunshine, " to the intense disgust of his microbes,"
as he facetiously put it.
His plan of tour forbade him to tarry in this bright
spot, and at the end of his three weeks he must needs
press on to Eome. But here, again, he was only too
unpleasantly conscious of a return to less suitable weather
conditions. When, therefore, his allotted time there was
up, he was nothing loth to set his face westward once
more, bound for the Eiviera. His idea was to stay in the
Eiviera until he should find himself able to slip back to
London without too much danger, and then at once sail
for Cape Town, which, he was now only too well aware,
he had been rash in leaving so soon.
The first news of him that followed his departure from
Eome was a shakily-written letter received by his mother
in the beginning of March, from Mentone, announcing
that he was " down with a very bad fever, and compelled
to keep his room." This was followed a few days later by
an intimation from another source that he was lying in
peril of his life with a new attack of illness. Without an
THE CLOSE OP THE PILGRIMAGE. 311
hour's delay, the writer hastened out to hiui, and found
him in the hands of doctor and nurses. He had been
seized with influenza, and pneumonia had supervened.
In any case this w^ould have been serious, but, coming as
a new link in the long terrible chain of afflictions, it was
enough to extinguish hope. The immediate crisis was
past, and there were signs of rallying, but even love could
not refuse to admit to itself that the approach of the end
was ominously near.
During the three weeks of the writer's stay at Mentone
with him there was a slow revival of vitality ; but it was
not until the middle of May that he was able to be
removed, under the charge of one of his nurses, to London.
He arrived there, at 3 York Gate, the house of his friend
Mr. S. W. Silver, more dead than alive.
His marvellous spirit of resolution once more came to
his aid, but alas, it was only to prolong the conflict for a
very little longer. In July, according to his desire, he
was removed to Cromer, in the faint hope that even yet
the bracing breezes of the Norfolk coast might rein-
vigorate him so far as to enable him to take the voyage
to South Africa. There was a temporary improvement,
but it was only a passing impulse of quickening to the
flickering life-forces. As the end of the month drew nigh
it became only too manifest that a crisis was approaching.
On the 28th he got himself propped up in bed to write
two little notes to his dear and faithful correspondents,
Mrs. Calder, Leith, and Miss Noake, Lymington. With
the finishing of the note to the latter he laid aside the pen
for ever. Here is what he wrote : —
"Just a line to tell you that your flowers arrived
blooming and Ijeautiful, like all things from your hands.
They find me as helpless and hopeless as ever. My fever
is always with me, making my days and nights alike
miserable, and leaving me in much perplexity as to what
to do next. I have much need of some one to take
812 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
possession of me and think and act for me. Excuse this
note, but I am writing in bed in an uncomfortable
position. — Yours affectionately, "Joe."
His need of " some one to take possession of him and
think and act for him" was soon answered. A telegram
from his nurse brought the writer to his side with all
possible speed.
He was indeed sadly changed. It required no seer
to discern the seal of death upon his wasted features.
But the mind was unclouded and the will firm as ever.
He had taken a great longing to be removed to London,
where he would feel that he was not wholly surrounded
by unsympathetic strangers, but was breathing the atmo-
sphere of friendship and kindly Imman feeling. The risk
was great, with his life flickering on the verge of extinc-
tion. But he was resolute, and who could deny a last
wish like this ? Hastily preparations were made, and all
possil)le means taken to smooth away the trials of the
journey.
And so the arms that had so often carried the little
brother in childhood's days once more bore him — alas, too
light a burden and feebler than an infant — into carriage
and train, and through tlie strident bustle of a London
station, till at last, after an anxious journey, they laid him
to rest in the hospitable home at York Gate. It was with
a sigh of "rateful relief tliat he found himself under the
roof of one who had always treated him with affectionate
kindness, and he could contentedly lie down and wait for
his release.
Of the three days that followed, and the little tender
talks that now and then interrupted the stillness of
watching, this is not the place to speak. No reader can
think of them as the writer does. Suffice it to say that
they revealed the man unchanged — gentle, unmurmuring,
ancl now as ever thoughtful cf others. He loved life and
would fain have rendered more service to his generation,
THE CLOSE OF THE PILGRIMAGE. 313
had that been permitted. This was touchmgly shown
when on the day before his death he said with a bright-
ening liglit in his eyes : " If I could put on my clothes and
walk a hundred yards, I would go to South Africa yet ! "
But when it became clear that for him the end of the way
had come, there was neither faltering nor complaint.
About mid-day on Friday, the 2nd of August, the signs
of a near change were unmistakable, and the writer spoke
to him of this in such words as he could find for the trying
duty. The sufferer flushed slightly, looked for a moment
with that straightforward, inquiring glance of his, and .
then calmly said, as the laboured breathing would allow
him : " I have been face to face with death for years, and
I need not be alarmed at it now. . . . We must all cast
ourselves upon the mercy of God. ... I am quite
prepared, and quite satisfied."
These were his last words. Quietly he turned on his
side and fell into a slumber, out of which he glided,
with an almost imperceptil)le passage, into the sleep that
closed the long agony. Thus, at the early age of thirty-
seven, ceased a life, brave, pure, strong, and true among the
truest — a life unsparing in its self-sacrifice, loyal to its
ideal, unmarred l)y the memory of a single meanness.
The dying of the best makes but little stir in the
public mind. But there were not wanting signs that
thoughtful men felt the ranks of the world's true helpers
to be the poorer for the loss of Joseph Thomson. The
obituary notices which appeared in the newspapers every-
where voiced, with a singularly impressive unanimity,
admiration of a life-work worthily and beautifully done.
Manifestly, if he had not posed ambitiously before the
public, he had at least secured a place for himself in the
appreciation of those who had an eye for earnestness and
moral enthusiasm and manliness.
The day of his death was coincident with that of the
closing of the International Congress of Geographers,
which had been holding its meetings in London.
3] 4 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFKIOAN EXPLORER.
" When," said one of the public journals, " it became
known that Mr. Thomson had succumbed to the illness
against which he had fought so long and so gallantly, the
greatest sympathy and regret were expressed amongst the
geographers assembled at the Imperial Institute. Many of
those attending the Congress were personally acquainted
with him, some had followed in his footsteps in Masai-
land or other parts of Africa where he had done previous
work, and all were unanimous in expressing their sense
of the great loss that his untimely death had inflicted on
the continent in which he had done his life's work. . . .
A brilliant young explorer has been cut off in what
should have been the prime of his days, though not before
he had accomplished an amount of work which has won
for him an imperishable place in the roll of African
explorers."
On the day following his death the body was removed
to the paternal home in Scotland. There until the funeral
the coffin was fitly enshrined in the little museum, amid
the many unique trophies which silently told the story
of his wanderings, and upon whose arrangement he him-
self had spent so much loving care.
On the 6th of August — one of those warm bright days
of early autumn which make the valley of Mthsdale look
its loveliest — he was buried in Morton Cemetery. The
whole district had been moved by his death, and a great
concourse of mourners assembled to do reverence to his
memory. Many also came from a distance to pay their
last tribute of respect. Among those who stood around
the grave and joined with the sorrowing father and
brothers in laying their friend to rest were J. M. Barrie,
Alexander Anderson, and his old fellow student "Wallace
Williamson — each of whom, no doubt, had his own
thoughts of sadness in recalling memories of " the voice
that is still."
Thus, after the toils and sufferings of his strenuous
THE CLOSE OF THE PILGRIMAGE. 315
career, Joseph Thomson has found his quiet haven where
of all places he would most have desired to find it, in the
centre of the valley he loved, and amid the sights and
sounds that were dearest to his heart. The sun rising
over the shoulder of Queensberry, and sending his bright
messages athwart Crichope and Gatelawbridge, seeks out
the spot among the first. At the sleeper's head is the
sheltering woodland, through which come now the cooing
of the cushat and the warblings of the song-birds in
their season, and anon, borne by the western breeze, the
sighing sound of the Nith, as it flows on over its pebbly
bed. And there, over against the place, stands sentinel
the Burn Hill, up whose rough sides his boyish feet have
so often clambered, and on whose heathery heights he
dreamed his youthful day dreams, while he surveyed the
glorious panorama spreading beneath him, and through
it saw with the mind's eye the wonders of the great
unsearched world beyond.
31G JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOHER.
CHAPTEE XIV.
AN APPRECIATION,
The reader who has perused with attention the foregoing
pages will probably feel that little more needs to be said
in order to convey an adequate conception of the man
whose career they portray. Yet it will be well that some
things, which are, as it were, in solution in the narrative,
should be crystallised into positive statement.
To merely casual acquaintances Joseph Thomson as a
man was not known. Such might be attracted by his
thoughtful look and grave, courteous demeanour — for ho
had in no slight degree the gift of captivating men's
confidence at first sight — and they might note in the
sparkle of his frank eyes some suggestion of the sunshiny
nature that lay behind. But the veil of modest reserve
concealed much of his individuality from all but his
friends. Yet there are few men whose qualities would
better bear a near scrutiny, or whose character was more
decidedly worth observing at close quarters.
Those who were most perfectly intimate with him will
probably think of . the single-minded simplicity of the
man as one of his most prominent cliaracteristics. What-
ever else he might he, he was at least transparently
honest and sincere. Those who knew him felt safe to
trust him to the uttermost. There was in him none of
that suspicious finesse or diplomatic vagueness wliich
suggests the posfjibility of unpleasant surprises, and
compels a sense of uncertainty. Disguise was alien to his
AN APPEECIATION. 317
nature. His words were "trusty heralds to his mind."
What he said, that he thought ; and what he consciously
permitted himself to seem, that he was.
It was one aspect of his honesty that he stood at every
moment with heart and mind full open to the light. No
one ever more earnestly desired to be free from the
influence of mere prejudice. Prejudice in any sphere of
life seemed to him the paralysis of usefulness there.
Therefore he held himself ever ready to receive new truth.
That is not to say that he set lightly by the opinions he
had been led to form. On the contrary, he always held
and stated his views with decision. Some men thought
him even dogmatic, and in a certain sense, perhaps, so he
was. But his emphasis of statement was never that of
the man who thinks he has attained to ultimate certainty.
It was the emphasis of one who feels that he is responsible
for the use of the light he has, and that he is bound to
impart that light to others.
]\Ir. Bartholomew, in his thoughtful obituary notice
of his comrade in the Scottish Gcograpliical Magazine,
has said that " to those who knew him best a spirit of true
chivalry seemed the keynote of his life." If chivalry be
taken to mean the generous subordination of self and its
interests to the fullilment of a duty or the advocacy of a
cause, the remark is singularly apposite. If in any
circumstances it appeared to him that there was a service
which he ought to render, all thoughts of self were
summarily swept aside. Where the worldly-wise would
have cautiously considered the consequences to their
safety or prospects, he only thought of stepping into the
breach. The prudential person, more astute than he, said
it was Quixotic ; but it was the Quixotism of conscience
and higli-mindedness. And if there was now and then
a touch of the romantic in his self-forgetfulness, is it
not well that the prosaic monotony of the commonplace
should at times thus be broken in upon ?
It hardly needs to be said that the dominating in-
318 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
fliience iu Joseph Thomson's life was liis interest in Africa
and the Africans. This was the focal point of all his
thoughts and energies. " ]\Iy beloved Africa " is a phrase
that every here and there crops up in his correspondence ;
and the phrase was with him no empty one. The pity for
the dark tribes of that vast continent, which the reading
of Livingstone's works had roused in his heart as a boy,
deepened steadily as he got a near view of them until
it became a passion which wholly possessed him. The
uplifting of Africa was his constant dream, his accepted
vocation ; and in his yearning for that consummation he
was possessed by as pure and reverent an enthusiasm as
any fabled knight of chivalry in his quest for the Holy
Grail. For this he counted no sacrifice too g^eat.
For this he dared all. For this he spent himself unto
death.
It was the very intensity and simplicity of his passion
for the elevation of the African that made men sometimes
misunderstand him. If he denounced methods of wilful-
ness and bloodshed in exploration ; if he spoke scathingly
of the hurtful influence which unworthy representatives of
civilisation were exercising ; if he uttered words of fierce
indignation against a selfish and demoralising commerce
like that which fostered the drink traffic ; if he protested
against " the scramble for Africa " in which governments
and individuals roljbed the simple tribes and overrode
their rights; if he strove by the blunt presentation of
unwelcome truths to thwart the unscrupulous speculator
who would make Africa the mere corpus vile for his
experiments; — it was always for the one reason that in
these things men were acting as enemies of the great cause
he had at heart. On the other hand, if he upbraided our
own government for its apathy about things African, it was
because he believed that Providence had given Britain a
mission for the good of Africa which she was sinfully
neglecting. And if he even ventured to criticise the
methods of some missionary societies in tlieir work upon
AN AITKECIATION. 819
the Dark Cuntineiit, it was because, in his eagerness for
the success of their beneficent object, he longed to see all
wise efforts made to quicken the pace. To speak pleasant
things all round would have been more popular, and some-
times more profitable to himself. But he was too much
in earnest for the advancement of his object to let his
influence fritter itself away in mere empty compliments
and futile generalities. He had decided views as to things
that were standing in the way of his ideal, and he must
needs say out what was in his heart — even though he
should be as a voice crying in the wilderness.
It is, of course, specially as an explorer that he has
accomplished the great work of his life ; and as one of the
last and most successful of the African pioneers, his name
can scarcely fail of perpetuation. But if he has a claim to
be remembered by the magnitude of his record in opening
up new lands, he has still a more notable claim in respect
of the spirit which inspired his entire career.
He had all the qualities which go to make an ideal
explorer. He had the vigorous well-knit physique and the
splendid constitution which fitted him for effort and en-
durance ; the fearless spirit which enabled him to look at
any danger calmly ; the energetic will which gave him
perfect control of himself, and made him dauntless in face
of all difficulties ; the keen sense of humour which kept
him cheerful alike in peril and suffering ; the inquiring-
spirit which rendered the discovery of the new a thing-
worthy of any self-denial ; and the enthusiasm, scientific
and moral, which abode with him as an unfailing fountain
of impulse. These are fundamental qualifications, neces-
sary more or less to the success of any pioneer. But
to these Joseph Thomson added other attributes which
have secured for him quite a special standing among
explorers.
There was, for instance, his unique geograpliical instinct
— a natural gift sedulously trained. So highly developed
was this faculty, and so keen, rapid and true were his
320 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
powers of observation and of topographic discernment,
that, in the opinion of another explorer, they " amounted
almost to genius." It was no uncommon thing for
him to check and set right even his own native guides.
His companion in the Morocco journey thus testifies :
" He was never at fault in deciding which of several routes
across unknown country it was best to pursue in order to
reach a desired point. Many times in the Atlas Mountains,
when our guides were purposely misleading us, his ([uicic
insight came to our rescue. He used to guess the heights of
the mountains we climbed before we commenced the ascent,
and observations on the summit almost invariably proved
his estimates to be correct within a few hundred feet."
Not less distinctive was his tact and practical insight in
dealing both with those under him, and with savage and
suspicious natives. He was a born leader and master.
Not infrequently in his caravans he had the most in-
tractable elements to reckon with ; but he hardly ever
failed to mould his men to liis purpose, and, while winning
their loyalty, to get out of them precisely what he wanted.
Even more notable, if possible, was his success with the
tribes through which he passed.
The quality, however, which has been recognised as
perhaps overtopping every other in his character as an ex-
plorer, was his extraordinary gentleness and self-restraint.
The natives, times without number, subjected his temper
to the most severe strain, but he never failed to keep the
mastery of it. To him they were but wayward and un-
tutored children to be treated with compassion, with
kindness if possible, but certainly with justice and charity.
The result was, that almost everywhere he disarmed
suspicion, and, despite all trials, was able to present the
story of his daring journeys without a single stain to mar
it in the eyes of humane men.
And he has his reward. Men who have the enthusiasm
of humanity and who know the difficulties which beset
the path of the explorer, speak of his example as one to
AN APPRECIATION. 321
be imitated. No higher encomium could his warmest
admirer wish for him than that which has been penned
by the President of the Eoyal Geographical Society (Sir
Clements E. Markham), in a letter referring to the
explorer's death : —
" I am anxious to convey to the parents of our Gold
Medallist, and, I must add, of our highly valued friend,
the assurance that we share in their sorrow. For Joseph
Thomson was bound to the Eoyal Geographical Society by
specially close ties. He commanded two of our most
successful expeditions, and, speaking with an experience
of tliirty-five years, there is no other African explorer,
alive or dead, to whom I would have entrusted the com-
mand of an expedition with equal confidence, either as
regards scientific attainments or fitness for the command
of others. Joseph Thomson had the high and glorious
distinction of never having caused the death of a single
native. This is a proof of very rare qualities in the leader
of an expedition, and places him in the very first rank of
explorers."
In view of such a tribute from one who could speak
with the highest authority, it is not surprising that the
public press, in referring to him at the time of liis death,
should have done so in terms like these :—
" England," said the Pall Mall Gazette, " has never yet
realized what a stalwart and sterling son she had in
Thomson. . , . With him dies the only traveller of our
time who, as regards his pluck, his persistence and his
methods, is worthy to rank witli Livingstone. ... It is
such as he that have built up and maintained our great
Empire." " Taken as a whole, he was," declared The
Speaker, " distinctly the greatest African explorer of our
time — immeasurably the greatest, if one takes into account
the smallness of the resources at his command when he
accomplished his greatest feats." Precisely parallel has
,been the universal testimony of those who could claim to
speak with knowledge.
V
o22 JUbEi'H THOMSUX, AFEICAN EXPLORER.
The practical usefulness of Joseph Thomson's efforts as
an explorer, has no doubt been enhanced not a little by his
felicity in the use of the pen. His excellences as a writer
have been widely acknowledged. He had a rare facility
in self-expression, and a cj[uick ear for the music and
rhythm of a sentence ; moreover, he put into his writing
much of his own individuality — his sincerity, his frankness,
liis poetic fancy, his humour. The result is a style of a
most racy and home-coming sort. His descriptive
passages, especially, are always graphic and picturescj^ue.
He had the power of seeing in a landscape precisely
the salient features that go to make up a picture ; and
as he could describe those features not only with the
special knowledge of the scientist, but with much of
the artist's keen insight into beauty, his accounts of the
strange lands he visited convey to the reader not a little
of the vivid enjoyment of a personal experience. One of
the gTCat charms of his writing is the utter absence alike
of self-consciousness and of effort. He never thouuht of
style at all, in the sense of making a careful and calculated
adjustment of his words. He simply dashed down on
the page his ideas as they rushed upon him, writing " by
ear," if we may so speak, and leaving grammar and syntax
to take care of themselves. Yet his pen-work is always
fresh and forcible. By a wide and discriminative reading
of good books, he had made his mind a full storehouse of
apt words and allusions. Thus in what he wrote there
was always at least the material out of which, with a little
judicious editing, genuine literature could be made.
In his more private and personal relations Joseph
Thomson was of a very winning and kindly character.
No son was ever more tender in his devotion to his
parents. The home fireside was the pole to which the
magnetic current of his affection went constantly forth.
Father and mother were ever his foremost confidants in
all his aims and plans and doings ; and however great
might be the bui-den of his anxieties or the demands upon
AN APPRECIATION. 323
his time and strength, the regular letter to " the old folks "
was never forgotten.
As a friend, too, he drew people to him with a more
than common attachment. All his friends were devoted
friends, for the better they knew him the more they found
in him to attract them and give them pleasure. His
unselfishness, his modesty, his healthy humanness of feel-
ing, his brightness of spirit, his unaffected enjoyment of
good fellowship, as well as his shrewdness of intellect,
all charmed his intimates, and kept ever wide open for him
the door of welcome. In many a circle he is missed and
mourned as only the well-beloved are.
We cannot more htly close our introductory notes than
by quoting from ' Personal EecoUections ' penned by one
of his familiars.
" Those of us," says this writer, " who enjoyed the
privilege of his friendship, honoured him no less as a hero
that we loved him as a genial, true, and honourable man.
Upright he was and honest to a degree that won for him
not a few enemies — diplomatic directors and chairmen of
companies mainly, who detested him for proclaiming truths
they did not wish to hear. But these were interested
parties, and count for nothing as compared with the host
of friends he made wherever he went, and none of whom
he ever forgot, however liumble, however separated by
time and distance. In his native shire, in Edinburgh, in
London, in Cape Town, and regions yet more remote, there
were many hospitable doors always open to him and a
warm welcome always ready. When in London, in the
happy days before sickness and hardship had undermined
his marvellous constitution, it was his daily custom to
lunch at the Criterion with a small band of congenial
spirits, geographical and otherwise, which at various times
included such well-known names as those of Du Chaillu,
Nansen, and J. Scott Keltic. To them came from time
to time such wandering celebrities or favoured friends
as might be passing through the metropolis ; and many
Y 2
324 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEER.
were the tales and meny the jests tliat accompanied the
post-prandial cigar. Thomson liimself was not a smoker,
however, and to the genuine lover of a good Havana
it was painful to witness his futile attempts to keep his
cigar alight, and the number of times he would wantonly
knock off the ash. Though not a pledged abstainer, a more
abstemious man it would be hard to find. Every one
knows the story of how he carried a bottle of brandy with
him to the very heart of Central Africa and brought it
back intact, a feat which in some people's estimation
almost rivalled that of the journey itself. ....
"Thomson was not without his kindly, human weak-
nesses. Some of us were wont to rally him not a little
now and then upon his nice taste in neckties, and a pre-
dilection for silk linings and luxurious smoking-jackets.
These were the Bohemians among us, however, and, in
graver and more philosophic moods, we agreed it was
only fitting that one who always did his best, and gave
his best, and lived his best, should likewise wear only the
best
"His was a strong personality and his words carried
con^dcti0n and elicited a ready obedience. But above all
he was a man of high ideals and lofty practice, generous to
lavishness, honest to a fault, chivalrous towards all
women, honourable and magnanimous towards all men.
For those who counted themselves as of the inner circle
of his friends, by whom can the vacant place ever be
filled?"
And now, with these simple forewords, it is time that
the writer of this narrative should stand aside and let
others, who knew the subject of it, and who have followed
with varying interest his public career, speak their
!:hour[hts concerning him.
AN APPEECIATION. 325
The Man.
Of Josepli Thomson as a companion Mr. J. M. Barrie
writes as follows : —
" I think I was proposing tlie toast of the Army, IsTavy,
and Eeserve Forces, coupled with the name of Mr. Brown,
or the Agricultural and Landed Interests, coupled with the
name of Mr. Black, when Joseph Thomson, then lately
arrived, very red, from Africa, walked into the room ; and
I finished my speech abruptly because the company liad
turned from me to look at him. The year must have been
1880, and we were members of an Edinburgh university
debating society, then holding our annual high revel, with
two speeches apiece, and mine, as you will perceive, on
subjects tliat sparkled of themselves. That was my first
meeting with Mr. Thomson, who had probably been a
member of the society some years earlier, when he was a
student at Edinburgh ; and I remember how we gathered
round him as if we were an African tribe, and how openly
pleased he was at our pride in him, and how modest and
bashful when called upon to speak about himself. At
that time he had the high spirits of a boy — it was his
great good fortune to retain much of the generous exuber-
ance of boyhood to the end — and my most vivid recollection
of that night is, that he laughed throughout it — when we
lavished praises on him, when he spoke of the privations
he and his caravan had suffered, even when he was singing
a painfully tragic ditty. But from the knowledge I had
of him afterwards I am sure we bored him considerably
before the night was far spent, for we were all men, or would
be men by-and-by ; and I remember his confiding to me
once, what I had already discovered for myself, that he
never knew a man whose society did not pall upon him in
time, nor a woman whose society did. This he told me
upon the deck of a Ehine steamer, which was crowded
320 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOEEE.
witli newly-married people ; we two, who were travelling
in company, seemed to be the only bachelors on the boat,
and every time he looked at the companions of the other
men his eye wandered contemptuously to me, and he
groaned.
" Do you remember how the light went out of his face
when the ladies retired from the dinner-table, and how he
yawned until we rejoined them ! Tlie ordinary after-
dinner talk made him irritable ; if it was about sport of
any kind he lapsed into silence (with a wistful eye on the
door). When in Africa he delighted in the sport that
kept his caravans in health and good humour and pro-
visions, but sport at home did not interest him at all ; he
scarcely knew how the popular English games are played.
I recollect his only cricket match, and how he played in
pyjamas, and had to be told why you changed your
position in the field when some one called ' over,' and that
when batting it had to be explained to him that he must
try to keep the ball off the wickets. Then he did not
smoke, which no doubt was another reason why he
thought the departure of the ladies a mistake. Men, I
think, who did not know him well, sometimes misunder-
stood him, but women never ; at least, women of parts did
not, for he was a remarkably good talker of that rare class
who must exchange views instead of merely giving them.
The woman who speaks what is really in her mind is
probably much more refreshing than any average man
similarly communicative, but it is no inconsiderable feat
to induce her to do so, and I think Mr. Thomson per-
formed it more successfully than any other man I have
known. I suppose women felt that it was a compliment
to be admired by this man — and I am sure it was, he was
so brave and modest, there was so much chivalry in his
attitude toward them, he was so ready to be their
champion. Who was more scornful than he for men tliat
spoke lightly of women, or more ready to give them a
piece of his mintl ? And all this, it seems to me, could be
AN APPRECIATION. 32/
read in his frank, wholesome face, which was stamped
with honesty. Add to this that there was a dash of the
sentimentalist abont him, and that on occasion he had a
roguish eye.
" I believe he would have gone to the stake rather than
tell a lie. He could not even ' beat about the bush.'
Such and such were his views, and if he was asked for
them he must reply ' straight from the shoulder.' There
were times when these views were not palatable to those
in authority, when it would have been better for his own
interests that he should tone them dow^n, or make believe
to change them, or at least keep them dark ; and one
hears it said that he was no diplomatist. I suppose he
was not, in the poor conventional meaning of the word ;
but again and again events proved that, had his advice
been taken, it would have been better for our interests in
Africa. Surely that is not to his discredit as a diplo-
matist. I think, however, it can be fairly urged that he
tended to be hasty and impatient in his dealings with
men in this country, which makes his success in Africa
the more remarkable. His patience there stands only
second to his humanity, he seems to have been tolerant
and conciliatory beyond almost all who have headed
caravans, and to have left a sweet name behind him
among all the tribes with whom he had sojourned. It is
reasonable to presume that his straightforwardness and
his boyish high spirits were responsible for much of his
popularity with the natives. Whatever their faults, they
too, were straightforward and gleeful, and so he had some-
thing in common witli them ; he and they found it easy to
understand each other. I am sure he delighted in ex-
changing views with their ladies, and enjoyed dancing
with the native belles, and was as courteous to them as
though they were the beauties of Mayfair.
" I suppose one expects an explorer to be a reader of
men rather than of books ; but he was a great book-reader.
On his return from Africa one of his first questions,
328 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
after he had shaved his beard (he liked to bring his
beard home with liim), was, 'Are there any good new
books ? ' He kept up with the literature of the day as
well as tliougli he lived within walking distance of the
British Museum. He read a great deal of poetry, and
among modern novelists Mr. Meredith and Mr. Hardy
were his favourites. I went to Southampton with him to
see him start on one of his last voyages, and I remember
how, after the gangway was raised, he came to the side of
the vessel and shouted, ' Eemember to send me " One of
Our Conquerors " as soon as it comes out.'
" I have known few men wliom I have esteemed as
much as Mr. Thomson."
The Geographer.
The geographical work of Joseph Thomson is thus
estimated by the veteran cartographer, Mr. E. G.
itavenstein : —
" In judging my late friend Tliomson's achievements as
geographical explorer two things must be borne in mind :
firstly, the fact that lie travelled as a pioneer, and that the
knowledge which proved so useful to his successors had
first to be acquired by him ; and secondly, that he was
generally alone, and had to attend in the first instance to
the business requirements of his expeditions, thus cur-
tailing the time left for scientific observation.
"Each of the six African expeditions upon which
Thomson was engaged yielded geographical results of
interest. During his first journey in 1879-80, when he so
pluckily carried out the objects of the expedition fitted out
by the Eoyal Geographical Society, after his leader, Keith
AN APPRECIATION.
329
Johnston, had succumbed to the climate, he, as the first
European, reached the northern end of Lake Nyassa from
the Zanzibar coast ; he traversed the plateau lying between
that lake and Tanganyika and pushed far into the mys-
terious region lying beyond that lake. The results
achieved at once won for Thomson, at the time a mere
youth, a prominent place among African explorers, and fully
justified the Council of the Eoyal Geogra|)hical Society in
choosing him as the leader of an expedition which was
to traverse Masai-land in the direction of the Victoria
Nyanza (1883-4). He fully justified their choice. This
journey proved by far the most important from a geo-
graphical point of view ever undertaken by him. He first
beheld the eastern flank of Mount Kenia, established the
independent existence of Lake Baringo, hitherto supposed
to be an arm of the Victoria; visited the cave-dwellers
on Mount Elgon, and as a crowning achievement reached
the north-eastern corner of the greatest among the African
lakes.
" A journey to Sokoto, which he undertook on behalf
of the Eoyal Niger Company, led through districts
already fairly well explored, but nevertheless yielded a
few latitudes which proved of service in the construction
of the map.*
" Far greater results were achieved by a short visit to
Morocco in 1888, when Thomson was accompanied by
young Mr. Crichton Browne. Not content with visiting
the city of Morocco and other places readily accessible,
* These latitudes, which, as far as I am aware, have never before
been published, are as follows : —
Kontokora .
10° 23' 20'
N.
Gigo . . .
. 11° 44'
40'
N
Ikam or Gunp;u .
10° 48' 56'
N.
Shingebo.
. 11° 59'
49"
N
Fufu Ndigi .
10° 58' 51'
N.
Mungadi .
. 12° 5'
39"
N
Zaria ....
1 1° 12' 56'
N,
Alieru (8 m. K.
ly
Zaga . . . .
11° 22' 51'
N.
N. of Jega)
. 12° 15'
46"
N
Kuude (S. of
Tamboel .
12° 23'
0"
N.
Zaga) . . .
11° 30' 0'
N.
Bodinga .
'. 12° 48'
41"
N.
330 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFEICAN EXPLOEER.
Thomson delivered several successful assaults upon the
High Atlas, crossed that mountain range thrice, and
ascended several of its virgin peaks. It was in Morocco
that Thomson contracted the ilhiess which brought to a
premature close the expedition which he conducted on
behalf of the British South Africa Company to Lake
Bangweolo (1891-2). Still, even under these adverse
conditions, and whilst suffering the pains of martyrdom,
Thomson attended to his geographical work, and the
resulting map proved of high value.
" As an explorer Thomson exhibited an admirable facility
for appreciating, at a glance, the broad features of the
countries he traversed. His sense of locality was strongly
developed, and his maps, although not as full of detail as
are those of some other African travellers, present us with
fair delineations of the regions they claim to portray.
Thomson's routes can be laid down without difficulty upon
the most recent maps, embodying all the information
derived from the more leisurely explorations of his
successors — a test of general accuracy to which the work
of many of our more famous African pioneers cannot be
successfully submitted. It is to be regretted, nevertheless,
that Thomson never thought it worth while to acquire
topographical methods more perfect than those almost
instincti^•ely employed by him, and that his knowledge of
astronomical work never passed beyond an elementary
stage. His attempted determination of two longitudes
during his famous Masai journey proved an utter failure.
How important such an observation would have been
may be judged from the fact that Mount Kenia, although
placed by him approximately in its true latitude, is nearly
a degree out in longitude. Fortunately the latitudes
determined by him during this and the succeeding ex-
pedition, although received with some distrust at the time,
have stood the test, and proved of great service in the
construction of his maps.
" The very important services rendered by Tliomson
AN APPEECIATION. 33^1
to geology will be referred to by Dr. Gregory. That he
was competent to deal with geographical subjects not
immediately connected with his own explorations is shown
by his work on 'Mungo Park and the Niger,' which a
German critique pronounced the first satisfactory bio-
graphy of the great African pioneer ever written.
" Before concluding this short notice of the work accom-
plished by one of our most successful and sympathetic
African explorers, I feel l:)Ound to draw attention to the fact
that Thomson succeeded in almost every instance in estab-
lishing friendly relations not only with the men in his
own service, but also with the natives whose territories he
was the first to explore. Not a page of his eventful history
as an explorer is stained with native blood, and he never
appealed to the ultimo ratio of kings and certain African
travellers. He owed this success not merely to his high
courage, decision of character, and promptness of action,
but more especially to a naturally kindly and genial
disposition, which showed great forbearance under pro-
vocation, and patience under difficulties. It was these
qualities which enabled him to overcome obstacles from
which others recoiled, or which they overcame only by
a display of In-ute force."
The Commercial Pioneer.
With regard to the influence of Joseph Thomson's
expeditions in the commercial opening up of Africa, Mr.
J, Scott Keltie, Secretary of the Eoyal Geographical
Society, says : —
" I have been asked to write a few words as to the
commercial value of my friend Joseph Thomson's various
African expeditions. His two great expeditions, under-
taken at tlie expense of the Ptoyal Geographical Society,
332 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
and on the results of which his enduring fame will rest,
had for their sole object geographical discovery ; yet in-
directly they have been of great practical importance.
His first journey, when by the sad death of Keith
Johnston, he, a boy, was left alone in the heart of Africa,
and with characteristic pluck determined to go forward,
led through territory which has since become partly
German, partly British, and partly Belgian. Young as
he was, his ol^servations on the country through whicli he
passed were made with intelligence and accuracy, and
have proved of utility to those who have, during the past
ten years, been endeavouring to turn this great region ot
Central Africa to practical account.
" Still more has this been the case with his memorable
expedition through Masai-land. It should be remembered
that he was the pioneer explorer in a country which has
since become a portion of the British Empire, and that
while he was making his way northward to Mount Kenia,
Stanley was on the Congo organising the Free State, and
Germany was preparing for that coup which led to the
scramble for Africa. Thomson's discoveries as to the
character of much of the region beyond the waterless and
desert coast belt, were a revelation to those inclined to
regard tropical Africa as hopeless, so far as European
commercial enterprise was concerned. It became evident
from Thomson's careful observations as to the character of
the country between Mount Kenia and Lake Victoria that
it was capable of being turned to excellent account under
white superintendence. He was the first to tell us of
the ' Great Rift Valley,' which forms so formidable an
obstacle to railway construction, as he told us of the
facility of transit across the country between the coast
and the valley, through which, he declared, one could drive
a Cape cart. Thomson's observations have been the basis
of all subsequent work in this region, geographical,
scientific and commercial.
" With the exception of the Morocco journey, which was
AN APPRECIATION. 333,
purely geographical, all Thomson's other work in Africa _
had more or less directly practical objects in view, was
connected with the exploration of Africa for commercial,
industrial, and colonising purposes. But it must not be
inferred that Thomson believed in the possibility of
colonising Africa in the proper sense of the term. He
was too honest, too experienced, and too intelligent to
advocate any such idea. That Africa could be developed
only under white direction he was convinced ; but he
never countenanced the belief that tropical Africa could
be made the permanent home of Europeans.
" The Eovuma expedition was undertaken on behalf of
Seyed Burgash, Sultan of Zanzibar, after his expedition
to the Great Lakes. The object of the expedition was
to discover if the coal, which was reported to exist on the
liovuma river, was of any commercial value. Had Thom-
son been a shade less honest and a little more tactful,
the result might have been very different. As a geologist
he was convinced that the stuff which he found on the
Eovuma was not coal at all, or at least was of so inferior
a quality as to be practically valueless. So he reported,
much to the dissjust and anger of the Sultan, who seemed
to think that it was Thomson's duty to make coal, if he
found none, or at least to say that the genuine article was
there. But Thomson was no diplomat. He reported
frankly what he believed to be the truth, much to his own
detriment so far as his pocket was concerned. Thomson's
report has been essentially confirmed by subsequent
investigations.
" The great Niger expedition was a triumph so far as the
commercial interests of England were concerned. By his
determination and promptitude he secured one of the
richest regions of Africa for the British Empire. He
knew that Germany was at his heels, but he carried out
his mission with entire success, and Thomson's treaties with
the native potentates and chiefs have, on many occasions
since, stood the Eoyal Niger Company in good stead.
iJ34 JOSEPa THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
" Thomson's last journey, that fatal journey on which he
contracted the illness that ultimately led to his death, was
undertaken at the request of Cecil Ehodes, for whose
qualities as an empire-maker Thomson had the greatest
admiration, and who, we know, had a high opinion of
Thomson as a pioneer explorer. Thomson was sent
mainly to report on the value of the territory to the north
of the Zambesi, lying within the British sphere, and over
which the British South Africa Company had claims. To
Thomson himself, as well as to others, the results of this
expedition were a surprise. He found over the greater
portion of the area visited by him a high plateau-country,
healthy as the Blantyre Highlands, and capable of enor-
mous development, both for plantations and stock-rearing,
if only rapid and cheap communication could be estab-
lished with the coast. Thomson, as we have seen, was
not a man to ' cook ' a report to suit company-mougers and
syndicate-makers, nor, as has been pointed out, had he any
belief in the possibility of permanently colonising Africa
by Europeans. His report, therefore, on the economical
value of this enormous stretch of British territory, is all
the more valuable, and undoubtedly added greatly to the
value of the assets of the company with which Cecil
Rhodes is so intimately connected.
" Alas ! that he has not lived to bear a further hand in
the opening up of Africa to British commercial enterprise.
Had he lived, there is no doubt that Mr. lihodes would
have been only too glad to have made further use of his
services in helping to develop that enormous territory, the
progress of which has only been temporarily checked by
recent events.
" While Thomson's fame will rest mainly on the work
which he did as an explorer in Africa, it wall not be for-
gotten that he rendered important services to the com-
mercial development of a continent which he loved, and
which claimed him, as it has done so many others, as a
martyr."
AN APPEECIATlON. 335
The Leader.
Joseph Thomson, as a leader, is thus portrayed by
Mr. J. A. Grant, who served under him in his last
expedition : —
" It is not without mis^irivinGr that I undertake to make
some remarks on the character of the late Joseph Thomson
as a leader, for I fear that my pen is incompetent to
adequately describe its many fine qualities. But at the
same time it is indeed a pleasure to me to endeavour to
put on record even a part of the admiration I felt for one
to whom I was so much indebted.
" My intimate acquaintance with Thomson was confined
to an expedition he undertook in Central Africa for
Mr. Cecil Ehodes. The work he was given to do on this
occasion was political as well as geographical, in a hitherto
unexplored region to the west of Lake Nyassa ; and its
entire and complete success bore testimony to Mr. Ehodes'
insight in the selection of a leader — a position which could
only be successfully held by a man of tact, great en-
durance, experience, and courage. Starting from the
delta of the Zambesi, Thomson took his expedition up
that river and the Shire to Lake Xyassa, where he dis-
embarked at Kota-kota on the western shore. Here we
began marching westward to Kwa- Chitambo, where
Livingstone died. After following the Ei\'er Congo for
some distance we struck southward, touching the Kafue,
one of the upper tributaries of the Zambesi. Thence our
course was generally eastward, until we at length came
back to our starting point on LakeNyassa. Unfortunately
this was the last expedition poor Thomson was destined to
take part in, for, some months after we started, he con-
tracted an illness from which he never entirely recovered,
and thus indirectly added his name to the long list of his
336 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
co-patriots who have died in making their country stand
forth as the pioneer of light and civilisation.
" No doubt he had undertaken more eventful journeys
where his skill was more constantly needed, and journeys
where he found circumstances more novel and interesting to
the outside world ; but I doubt if any traveller ever under-
went a more trying time than he did upon that occasion.
Nothing but indomitable perseverance like his would have
carried him through. Struck down by an acutely painful
internal disease, far from any medical assistance, Thomson
never for one moment resigned the work he had under-
taken ; he struggled on gamely day after day, refusing to
be carried until he was worn to a shadow, and had at
length to submit to a rough-and-ready hammock. But
still he retained command of his caravan, never relaxing
his attention and care of everything, until he brought his
expedition to a satisfactory conclusion and resigned him-
self to tlie generous and kindly care of the Church of
Scotland missionaries at Blantyre.
" Thomson was not one of those African explorers who
considered the force of arms a necessary accompaniment
of successful travel. He from the first grasped the fact
that the African savage, although ever ready for the fight,
with few exceptions, prefers peace, and that tact is quite
as powerful as the ritle in African exploration. Conse-
quently he was a prince among pioneers, for those who
followed him were looked upon as friends, not enemies.
"In no circumstances that I can imagine are greater
opportunities offered to one for forming a just estimate of
a man's character than those offered by tlie long com-
panionship of a Central African journey. No veneer could
hide the genuine characteristics of a man when you can
see him daily being subjected to the many trials to which
the leader of an African caravan is liable. The mere
Qatalogue of Thomson's achievements is sufficient to testify
to his ability as an explorer and leader of the first rank ;
and, from pay personal experience^ I believe he attained to
AN APPRECIATION. 337
this position by the charm and strength of his character.
The greatest difficulty, the most extreme danger, was met
with a smile on his face which was the outward sign of a
singularly even temper. Naturally a quite fearless man,
he was never reckless, and was always ready to appreciate
the timidity of a subordinate. If any danger was to be
run, Thomson invariably performed it himself; but at the
same time he expected his men to do their duty, and any
dereliction of it was instantly dealt with. His indomit-
able energy never allowed him to spare himself the
smallest trouble or pains, and a natural inquisitiveness
combined with such a nature was the cause of the stores
of information which may be found in his works."
The Scientist.
On the contributions made by Joseph Thomson to the
' Geology of Africa,' Dr. J. W. Gregory, who after him
travelled for scientific study in Masai-land, makes the
following remarks : —
"The contributions to our knowledge of African geology
made by the late Joseph Thomson may be divided into
five groups : first, the geological appendix in ' To the
Central African Lakes and Back ' ; second, his examination
of the Rovuma Basin ; third, the various geological notes
in his book ' Through Masai-land ' and the map published
in the earlier editions of that work ; fourth, his observa-
tions on the former glaciation of the Atlas Mountains in
Western Morocco ; and finally, his study of the region to
the west of the Nyassa during his journey to Katanga, of
which the results were summarized in a paper on 'TJie
Evolution of the Tanganyika Basin.'
"In 1879, when Thomson so pluckily and successfully
z
338 .lOSEPII THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
carried through the expedition begun by Keith Johnston,
very little was known of the geology of the hinterland of
Eastern Africa. The Zambesi Valley had been examined
by the geologist Thornton, whose paper in 1862 marks the
beginning of real work in this region ; the coastlands had
been explored by Baron C. C. von der Decken, whose
collections revealed the main facts in their geological
structure. In regard to the Nyanza and Tanganyika
basins, however, and to the plateau that separates them
from the sea, there were only the few geological notes of
Burton and Speke, and the observations made by the keen
eyes of ]\Ir. Stanley during his two journeys to Tanganyika
(1871 and 1876).
" Thomson showed himself equal to any of his prede-
cessors in accuracy of observation, while he had the l>enefit
of training in geology at Edinburgh. He was therefore
able to construct a definite geological section across the
country from Tanganyika to the coast. This section
formed the basis of all subsequent geological work along
that line, and was not materially corrected until the
publication of the results of Oscar Baumann's ' Zur Nil
Quelle' in 1894.
" Thomson showed that the area between Tanganyika
and the sea is a vast plateau of gneiss, schist and
granite, which is separated from the coast by a broad
belt of sedimentary rocks. These beds he identified as
Carboniferous, assuming them to be the northern continua-
tion of the coal-bearing deposit of that age, found by
Thornton in the Zambesi Valley. He pointed out, more-
over, that volcanic rocks are often deposited on the gneisses
in the interior, and supported the view that both Lakes
ISTyassa and Tanganyika lay in depressions formed by
faults. These conclusions were published in an appendix
to the volume containing the narrative of the expedition
which was Thomson's first piece of geological work, and
was probably his best and most important. The main
lines he laid down have been abundantly supported, and
AN APPEECIATIOX. 333
sulisequeiit workers aloug this traverse have only had to
fill ill the details, except in regard to two points. The
iirst of these was the age of the sedimentary deposits along
the Eovuma Valley. Thomson's identification of these as
Carboniferous helped to encourage the hope that coal
would be found there, as it is in the Carboniferous
deposits of the Zambesi. The Sultan of Zanzibar accord-
ingly sent Thomson to examine the district in greater
detail. IsTo coal was found, for the beds are probably not
of the age supposed. The Sultan of Zanzibar appeared
so greatly annoyed at the failure to find coal, that it was
at one time thought likely to prejudice Thomson's chance
of organizing the caravan for his expedition to ]\Iasai-
land.
" This was Thomson's most famous piece of geographical
work, but the geological results were less completely
worked out than those of his first journey. Travelling in
the lands of the Masai and the Kikuyu is a more arduous
undertaking than among the Bantu tribes further south.
Hence so much of Thomson's time was occupied by the
work of feeding the caravan and pacifying natives, that
there was less opportunity for steady geological work.
Moreover, Dr. G-. Fischer had a few months previously
marched along almost the same line as that followed by
Thomson, nearly as far as the northern boundary of the
Masai, north of ISTaivasha. Thomson promised a geological
report on the country, but this does not appear ever to
have been written, and we have only some notes scattered
through his volume and a sketch map. He pointed out
that gneisses and schists are extensively developed in the
interior of British East Africa, and that upon these are
piled great sheets and cones of volcanic materials.
Blandford had shown that the lavas of Abyssinia are
referable to two different dates, and Thomson tried to
group the East African volcanic rocks into the two corres-
ponding series. Considering the difficulties under which
Thomson laboured, it is not surprising that his attempt to
z 2
340 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLOITER.
classify the complex lavas of tlie interior of British East
Africa was not successful. Moreover, Thomson relied only
on observation in the field and did not collect specimens ;
he seemed to think it unnecessary. The igneous rocks of
Masai-land cannot however be named properly in the field
and require microscopic examination ; hence, unfortunately,
not all of Thomson's lavas from the plateaux were correctly
designated, and in some cases the errors were very mis-
leading. Hence Gustav Fischer — although a zoologist and
not a geologist — was able by careful collecting to bring
home material, which, worked out by Mugge, gave a more
reliable idea of the geology of this region.
" Thomson's later journey up the Niger gave no scope
for seolosical work, but in Western Morocco he was able
to make valuable observations on the former glaciation of
the Atlas. The evidence adduced is perhaps not entirely
convincing, as geologists are so tired of having gravel
ridges called moraines that they are likely to suspend
judgment until detailed maps and sketches of the ridges
are available for examination. But as Thomson's eye was
so good and he had been educated in a glaciated country,
his judgment on this question is very weighty.
" His last contribution to African geology was a geological
sketch map of the Tanganyika basin, given in the report
on his expedition to Katanga in the Proceedings of the
Geographical Society. He pointed out that the upper
Congo basin was filled by sedimentary deposits which
accumulated in a depression to the west of the East
African gneiss plateau. Here again his main facts were
undoubtedly correct, although Cornet's recent detailed
descriptions of the deposits (1894) are not quite in harmony
with all his conclusions.
" It is impossible to read Joseph Thomson's writings
without feelings of mingled admiration and regret —
admiration at his brilliant insight, and his power of at
once reading the structure of a country, and regret for the
fact that his creoloo[ical work had so often to be done under
AN APPEECIATION. 341
pressure of haste, a fact wbicli of necessity at times
lessened tlie value of it. One cannot follow in his foot-
steps without feeling that Tliomson had a remarkable
instinctive capacity for geographical work ; he could learn
more of a range or peak by a view from a distance of
twenty miles, than many men would do by an actual
ascent. This keenness of sight and his knowledge of the
general accuracy of his conclusions, probably led him to
trust to methods which no ordinary man would have
dared to use. He was unfortunate in having been trained
in geology in a district of which the geological conditions
were totally different from those in the remarkable area
in Africa where most of his best work was done. He had
been trained moreover at a time before the work of
Americans in the Western States, and of the Vienna
school under Suess had greatly influenced European
geologists : when we remember these facts, it is not sur-
prising that some of Thomson's geological work has failed
to stand the test of subsequent revision, and that it is on
his contributions to geographical science that his fame
will ultimately rest. In this department, however, his
genius was at its best and his achievements were magni-
ficent. The six African journeys have placed him in the
front rank of African travellers, and his name will be
remembered so long as the graceful Gazclla Tliomsoni
gambols over the steppes of the Masai plateaux which he
explored so well."
Writing of Joseph Thomson as a Botanist, Mr. G. P.
Scott-Elliot, himself also a traveller for scientific purposes
in East Africa, gives this testimony : — ■
" Joseph Thomson was one of the few individuals who
still uphold the traditions of English scientific travellers
in botanical matters- His main interest seems to have
been geology (he was a very distinguished geological
student in Edinburgh), but during liis many dangerous
312 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
and critical expeditions he manap;ed under very difficult
circumstances to make most valual;)le collections.
" No one who has not had personal experience of the
same kind can have any conception of the dangers of
African travel to botanical specimens. An overloaded
canoe, a day's neglect, or even a careless porter, may
completely destroy the accumulations of months of patient
and self-denying labour.
" Unfortunately his collections have for the most part
not yet been described in a thorough and complete
manner, and hence many are still unnamed in the national
hcrharia. Yet there are sufficient to hand to show that,
in the entirely new countries which he visited, he Avas the
first to discover many interesting fonns.
"Amongst these is a new species of Pcwte.s which I liave
named P. Thomsonii, and if I am right in my estimate of
his work, there are not more than two or three Englishmen
of our own times who have made as many valuable dis-
coveries in Tropical Africa.
"He managed, when exposed to the extraordinary
perih of Masai-land, to carry a large collection safely
home, and this must have been at very great personal
discomfort to himself, for many of his own private
comforts were abandoned instead of these valuable
scientific collections.
" It would be a great benefit to science if there were
more men of his stamp able to follow the example which
he set."
These notes by ]\Ir. Scott-Elliot, with reference to
Joseph Thomson's botanical work, may fitly be supple-
mented by the words of another high authority. Writing
in A^ature (Sept. 12, 1895), Mr. W. Botting Hemsley, of
Kew Gardens, expresses himself as follows : —
" During his too short career Thomson presented three
considerable collections of dried plants to Kew. The first
which appears to have been made on his own initiative,
AN APPRECIATION. 343
chiefly between Lake Nyassa and Lake Tanganyika, was
secured for Kew in 1880, through the instrumentality of
the late Colonel J. A. Grant, F.E.S. This was not the
subject of a special paper ; yet it contained a number of
interesting novelties, some of which have from time to
time been published in Hooker's Iconcs Plantarum, and
elsewhere.
" Before going out again Thomson carefully studied the
means by which his collecting o^^portunities might be turned
to the greatest advantaire. Armed with this knowledge,
he collected even more successfully in the Kilimanjaro
and other mountains of Eastern Equatorial Africa. This
second collection reached Kew in September, 1884, and
proved of the greatest scientific importance, being the first
adequate illustration of the mountain flora of that region.
It contained scarcely one hundred and fifty species ; but
the specimens were selected with admirable judgment,
and were sufficient for all purposes. It Vvas worked out
by Sir Joseph D. Hooker and Professor D. Oliver, and
the very important results recorded in the twenty-first
volume of the Journal of tlic Linnsean Society. This paper
and Thomson's collection will always rank among the
classical documents for the study of the phytogeography
of Central Africa.
" Subsequently Mr. Thomson sent to Kew the botanical
fruits of his journey to the Atlas Mountains, and, although
they contained very few previously unknown plants, they
were none the less instructive as a sample of the flora of
that comparatively little known part of the world.
" Had he preserved his health Thomson might have taken
his place in the first rank of botanical explorers. He had
acquired the rare gift of selection in collecting ; of knowing
what to secure and what to neglect." :.^;.' i..
Joseph Thomson's contributions to other branches of
science were not unwcnLhy of recognition. Fur instance,
344 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
regarding his collection of shells from Lakes Tanganyika
and Nyassa, Mr. Edgar A. Smith, of the British Museum,
testified that it was " one of the most remarkable additions
to the Concliological fauna of Central Africa that has ever
been made." " I feel bound," he added, " to bear testimony
to the admirable manner in which the specimens have
been preserved by Mr. Thomson, to whom the greatest
praise is due in contributing such a fine addition to our
knowledge." *
Similarly his work in the department of Natural History
is thus referred to by another writer : —
*' A fact connected with the late Mr. Joseph Thomson
has been brought to my notice which is worth relating, as
it serves to recall some of the work which the young
explorer accomplished in the field of natural history
during his too short life. While on his expedition to
explore the Eiver Eovuma in 1881, Mr. Thomson made a
very good collection of natural history specimens, especially
of birds. These he sent home to be described by the well-
known ornithologist. Captain G. E. Shelley, who was able
to add interesting new species to the African avifauna. One
of these he named after Thomson ; and as the nearest ally
of the new species had been previously called after Living-
stone, the names of the two travellers will, not inappro-
priately, be often remembered together in connection with
the study of the ornithology of the continent which both
did so much to develop. The specimens collected by
Mr. Thomson are now in the national collections at South
Kensington, where they will be preserved for all time." t
These various testimonies of experts, whether taken
singly or collectively, surely need nothing to add to their
weight ; and men who have the vast and varied interests
of science at heart will not fail to note their significance.
* ' To the Central African Lakes and Back,' vol. ii. p. 295.
t In The Scotsman, August, 1895.
AN APPRECIATION. 345
He was cut oft', alas ! too soou. So, at least,
•would love and friendship say, wliich knew his aspira-
tions, and which saw at once his gifts and the world's
need of them. But far beyond the limited circle of friend-
ship the sentiment of regret for his untimely removal
finds echo. The world is never so rich in men who join
high endowments with pure ideals that it can afford to
look with indifference upon the loss of even one such
worker. There is always pathos, too, in the thought of a
life extinguished in the very noonday of promise, when its
best fruition seemed yet awaiting it, and when there was
the eager crave to be up and doing in the service of
mankind. In presence of the mystery and the pathos we
can but fall back upon the faith so grandly voiced by
Mrs. Browning — grateful that an assurance containing
such depths of light and comfort lies open to us : —
"I smiled to think God's greatness flowed arcund our iucom-
pleteness, —
Round our restlessness, His rest."
V
346 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
APPENDIX
I.
A LIST OF THE PUBLISHED WRITINGS OF
JOSEPH THOMSON.
1877. The Origin of the Permian Basin of Thorahill. Transactions
of the Dumfriesshire and GuUoivay Natural History Society,
1879, p. 43.
Notes on a Glacial Deposit near Thornhill. Transactions of
the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History Society,
1879, p. 70.
1879. Notes on the Geology of Usambara. Proceedings of Royal
Geographical Society, September, 1879, N.S. 1, p. 558.
Notes on the route taken by the Royal Geographical Society's
East African Expedition from Dar-es-Salaam to Uliehe.
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, February,
1880, N.S. 2, p. 102.
1880. A Trip to the Mountains of Usambara. Good Words, 1880.
Toiling by Tanganyika. Two articles : Good Words, 1881.
Journey of the Society's East African Expedition. Proceedings
of the Royal Geographical Society, December, 1880, N.S. 2,
p. 721.
Notes on the Geology of East Central Africa. Nature, 1881,
23, p. 102.
1881. To THK Central African Lakes and Back. London:
Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1881.
The same in German. Jena : Hei-mann Costenoble, 1882.
1882. Notes on the Basin of the River Rovuma, East Africa. Pro-
ceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, February, 1882,
N.S. 4, p. 65.
APPENDIX. 347
1882. Adventures on the Rovuma. Good Words, 1882, pp. 240, 398.
On the Geographical Evolution of the Tanganyika Basin.
British Association Beport, 1882, p. 622.
1883. Report on the Pro-ress of the Society's Expedition to Victoria
Nyanza. Broceedings of the Boijal Geographical Society,
1883, N.S. 5, p. 544.
1884. Through the Masai Country to Victoria Nyanza. Broceedings
of the Boyal Geographical Society, December, 1884, N.S. 0,
p. 690.
1885. Thbough Masai-Land. London : Sampson Low, Marston &
Co., 1885.
The same in German. Leipzig : F. A. Brockhaus, 1885.
The same in French. Paris : Librairie Hachette et Cie., 1886.
1886. Sketch of a Trip to Sokoto by the River Niger. Journal of
the Manchester Geographical Society, 1886, 2, p. 1.
Niger and Central Sudan Sketches. Scottish Geographical
Magazine, October, 18S6, 2, p. 577.
Up the Niger to the Central Sudan. Good Words, January,
February, April and May, 1886, pp. 24, 109, 249, 323.
East Central Africa and its Commercial Outlook. Scottish
Geographical Magazine, Februarj', 1886, 2, p. 65.
Note on the African Tribes of the British Empire. Journal of
the Anthropological Institute, vol. 16, p. 182.
Mohammed:iuism in Central Africa. Contemporary Beview,
1886, p. 876.
1888. Ulu— a novel written in collaboration with Miss E. Harris-
Smith. London : Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1888.
A Masai Adventure. Good Words, 1888, p. 94.
1889. East Afiica as It Was and Is. Contemporary Beview, 1889
p. 41.
A Journey to Southern Morocco and the Atlas Mountains.
Broceedings of the Boyal Geographical Society, Jauuary,
1889, N.S. 11, p. 1,
How I Reached My Highest Point in the Atlas. Good Words,
1889, p. 17.
Explorations in the Atlas Mountains. Scottish Geographical
Magazine, April, 1889, 5, p. 169.
348 JOSEPH THOMSON, AFRICAN EXPLORER.
1889. How I Crossed Masai-land. Scrihner's Magazine, 1889,
p. 387.
Travels in the Atlas and Southekn Mokocco. London:
George Philip & Son, 1889.
Some Impressions of Morocco and the Mooi's. Manchester
Gcograpliical Magazine, 1889, 5, p. lOL
1890. Downing Street versus Cliartered Companies. Forliiighthj
lieciew, 1890, p. 173.
The Results of European Intercourse with Africa. Con-
temporary Review, 1890, p. 337.
MuNGO Park and the Niger. London : George Philip &
Son, 1890.
1892. A Central Sudan Town. Harper's Magazine, 1892, p. 220.
The Uganda Problem. Contemporary Heview, 1892, p. 786.
To Lake Bangweolo and the Unexplored Region of British
Central Africa. Geographical Journal, February, 1893, 1,
p. 97.
IL
A LIST OF THE HONORARY TITLES CONFERRED UPON
JOSEPH THOMSON.
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Honorary Member of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
Honorary Membor of the Manchester Geographical Society.
Gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society.
Honorary Member of the Royal Italian Geographical Society.
Honorary Member of the Netherlands Geographical Society.
Silver Medallist of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
INDEX
Aberdaee Range discovered by
Thomson, 115
Akassa, description of, 143
Alcock, Sir Rutherford, Chairman
of African Com. of R.G.S., 46 ;
views on Thomson's first ex-
pedition, 74; receives for I'hora-
son in his absence the R.G.S.
gold medal, 139 ; testimony to
Thomson's work, 140
Amsmiz, 216, 218; the Wad,
217
Anderson, Alex., 71 ; bis im-
promptu sonnet, 75 ; residence
with, 196 ; pocrri b}', xv
Anthropological Institute, Paper
before the, 167 and appendix I.
Asif-el-Mel glen, 218
Atlas Mountains, exploration re-
solved upon, 199 ; first glimpse
of, 205 ; Jews of the, 209 ; as
seen from Morocco city, 213;
various excursions among the,
215-218, 221, 222
Azamor, 204
Bagamoyo, arrival of first ex-
pedition at, 09, 70
Ball's journey to the Atlas, 200
Ban2;weolo, Lake, the true posi-
tion of, 259
Baringo, Lake, first seen by
Thomson, 115 ; country to the
north of, explored by Thomson,
121
Barrie, J. M., first acquaintance
with, 75 ; Continental trip with,
241 ; a visit from, 278 ; tribute
by, 325
Earth's journeys in the Niger
region, 136, 156
Behobeho, death of Johnston at,
54
Binue, River, scenery at confluence
with the Niger, 145 ; rights on
the, secured for Niger Company,
160, 161
Blantyre, description of approach
to, 252 ; mission work at, 253,
268 ; Thomson an invalid at,
267 ; departure from, 272
Botany, Thomson's contributions
to, 341, 342
Brenner, German traveller, 93
British Association, paper at
Southampton meeting, 89 ; dis-
cussion with Cameron a^, 90
meeting at Birmingham, 173
British S. Africa Co., its history
and plans, 247 ; Thomson en-
gaged by, 248 ; results of his
work for, 267
Brown, Agnes, mother of the ex-
plorer, 1 ; account of, 3
350
INDEX.
Barton, journey to Tanganyika,
92
Biissn, Rapids of, on the Niger,
152
Calder, Mrs., joint autlior of
' Ulu,' 190 ; tribute by, 323
Cameron, Lieut., his views on the
Lukuga outlet to Lake Tan-
ganyika, 63 ; discussion with,
90
Capri, visit to, 307; description
of, 308
Caves, extraordinary, at Mount
Elgon, 120
Chala, Lake, 109
Chartered companies, Thomson's
approval of, 240, 247, 283
Chiloma, 252
Chitambo, New, reached, 258
, Old, report on Livingstone's
grave at, 259
Clapi^erton's journeys in the Niger
region, 136, 150
Coal on River Rovuma, said to
exist, 76 ; expeditions to seek,
77 ; Thomson commissioned to
explore for, 78 ; failure to find,
81
Commercial prospects of East
Africa, 134; paper on, 165
Commercial spirit, the, in explora-
tion, 132, 133
Commercial pioneer, Thomson as
a, 331
Conchologv, Thomson's contribu-
tion to, 344
Con;;o, survey of the, 61 ; a dash
for the, 65 ; a glimpse of the,
65 ; on the Upper, 260
Crvchope Linn, description of, 27
Dae-es-Salaam, starting-point of
first expedition, 53
Dv-'cken, Baron von der, 93
De Foucault's explorations in
the Atlas, 200
Dcmnat, description of, 214 ; ex-
ploration at, 215
Demoralisation of native races
through intercourse with Euro-
peans, 192
Denhardt, German traveller, 93
Dogilaiii Plain, 111
Drink traffic, the ravages of the,
in Africa, 142, 192
East Africa, commercial pros-
l^ects of, 134, 165; as it was
and is, 231 ; effect of Thomson's
work in, 126 ; his views on our
Government's action in, 231,
239, 240
East Africa Company, 185 ; Thom-
son ecalled from Morocco by,
228 ; their plans regarding
Emin dropped, 230; attempt
to engaa;e Thomson again, 245
Elgeyo, Plateau of, 112; Thom-
son crosses, 116
Elgon, Mount, extraordinary caves
at, 120
Emin Pasha, account of, 181 ;
anxiety about, 181; rescue of
proposed, 182; Thomson's views
about route to be taken, 182 ;
letters to Times regarding, 182,
184; Thomson to lead a new
relief expedition, 229; Thomson
wanted in order to checkmate
his new move, 245
Exhibition, Colonial and Indian,
170
Explorer, Thomson as an, 132,
140,314,319,330
Fillani, Nupfe desolated by the,
150 ; a picturesque reception
by, 150; contrast of Pagan
with Mohammedan, 152
INDEX.
351
nobleman and attendants, 153 ;
courtiers, 157
Fischer, German traveller, 93 ;
his expedition to Masai-land,
98; his route hit upon by
Tliomson, 105 ; makes trouble
with the Masai, 105, 106 ; re-
treat of, from Lake Naivasha,
113
Flegel, Herr, appointed Germany's
envoy to Sokoto and Gandii,
137 ; work for Germany on the
Binue, 147
Gandu, German mission to, 137 ;
king of, his sphere of influence,
145 ; treaty with, 160
Gatelawbridge, settlement of
family at, 7 ; associations of
the quarry, 7 ; scenery around,
8 ; Thomson works in the
quarry at, 28 ; life at, 38, 45,
72, 87, 89, 127, 163, 170, 174,
189, 273, 279, 304
Geikie, Sir Archibald, Thomson's
first meeting with, 27 ; his
studies under, 30, 40 ; reminis-
cences by, 42
Geographer, Thomson as a, 328
Geology, Tiaomson's first steps in,
24 ; the, of Nithsdale, 26 ; of
Crichope Linn, 27 ; of East
Africa, 74; of Kilimanjaro,
104 ; Thomson's contributions
to, 337
Germany, designs of, on the
Niger, 137 ; out - generalled,
161 ; her action in East Africa,
229, 232, 239
Gilmour, T. L., 175 ; his reminis-
cencis of the Paris sojourn, 177
Gindafy, experiences at, 218
Gindi, Kiver, tributary of Eiver
Niger, 152 ; loss of diaries, etc.,
at, 161
Grant, Colonel, journey to
Uganda, 92 ; death of, 278
Grant, J. A., engaged as assistant,
249 ; a successful defence under,
266 ; despatched with treaties,
267 ; tribute to Thomson as a
leader, 335
Greely, Lieut., Thomson's tribute
to, 164
Gregory, Dr. J. W., on Thomson
as geologist, 337
Grierson, Dr., an account of, 21 ;
his museum, 22 ; early associa-
tion of Thomson with, 23
Hadid, Jebel, iron workings at,
207
Hannington, Bishop, 119, 129
Haussa hut, 151
Haussa States, commercial activity
of, 155
Hemsley, W. Botting, on Thomson
as botanist, 342
Hewison, Mr., character of, as
teacher, 11
Hikwa, Lake, seen first by Thom-
son, 66 ; re-named Lake Leo-
pold, 66
Hooker, Sir Joseph, draws out in-
structions for Thomson, 48 ; his
experience of travel in Morocco,
200 ; his paper on Thoms^on's
botanical collections, 343
Hore, Mr., of London Missionary
Society, 63, 64
Iendwe, camp at, 61; return to,
65
Iminifiri, natural bridge-aqueduct
at, 215
Iraintanut, journey from, into Siis
country, 222
I Iramba, uplands of, 260
Itule village, the site of reported
coal deposits,' 81
352
INDEX.
Jega, town of, 152, 155
Johnston, Keith, expedition under,
46 ; object of the expedition,
49; illness of, 53, 54; death
of, '54
Kabaras, village of, 116
Kabwire's, an exciting emergency
at, 255
Kafue River, the objective of the
Zambesia expedition, 261
Kamasia Ean2;e, 116
Kapte Plateau, 112
Kasenge, rest at, 63
Katanga, Rhodes' desire to secure,
269
Kavirondo, Thomson reaches,
116; character of the people
of, 119
Keltie, J, Scott, on Thomson as
a commercial pioneer, 331
Kenia, Mt., first seen by Krapf,
93 ; Thomson's journey to, 113 ;
arrival at, 115
Kilimanjaro, Mt., discovered by
Rebmann, 93 ; Thomson reaches,
101 ; description of, 102 ; geo-
logy of, 104; fertility of
country around, 108
Kimberley, first visit to, 249
the diamond mines at, 250
return to, as an invalid, 292
life at, 294, etc. ; farewell to,
301
Kirk, Dr., the man and his in-
fluence, 51 ; sees first expedi-
tion off, 53; recommends
Thomson for exploration of
River Rovuma, 77; reception
of Thomson after his Masai-land
journey, 126 ; his work in East
Africa, 231
Kontokora, interesting reception
at, 150
Kota - Kota, starting - point of
I B.S.A. expedition, 254 ; return
I of caravan to, 266
Krapf, settles at Mombasa, 92
his pioneering journeys, 93
exploration of Ukambani, 93
the first to see Mt. Kenia,
93
Kru boys, demoralisation of the
142
Kwa-Chepo, a slave trader com-
pound at, 263
Kwa-Kavoi, turning-point in last
journey, 261
Kwa-Nansara, caravan attacked
by small-pox at, 258
Leader, Thomson as a, 335
Lenz, his journey to the Atlas,
200
Leopold, Lake, first seen and named
by Thoms'jn, 66
Lipumbula, Mt., description of,
82
Li \ingstone, influence of his works
on Thomson, 17 ; remembered
in a crisis, 56 ; survey of Congo
begun by, 60; his report re-
garding coal on the River
Rovuma, 76 ; his journey on
Rovuroa, 78, 80; as a pioneer,
92 ; Thomson's oration upon,
at unveiling bust o"", 235; at
the Loangvva river, 256 ; his
grave at Old Chitambo visited,
259 ; conflicting views as to
place of his death, 259
Loangwa River, plains of the, 255 ;
fording the, 256
Lohombo River, plain of, 260
Lokoja, scenery at, 145
Longonot, Donyo, crater of, 113
Luapula River, upper waters of
the Congo, 260
Lukuga outlet of Tanganyika, 61 ;
problem of the, settled, 63 ;
INDEX.
353
discussion with Cameron re-
garding, 90
Lujende river, description of, 80
Lykipia, plateau of, 112 ; terrible
experiences araons; the Masai
of, 113; scenery of, 114 ; flight
from, 115
AIahexge, caravan scared by the,
58 ; country of, 59
Makonde, country of, 79 ; people
of, 85
Makua people, the, 85
Malike, king of Nupe, 145, 147,
149
Mandara, caravan detained by,
103 ; released from, 105
Markham, Sir Clements R., tribute
by, 321
Masai-land, difficulty of exploring/,
94 ; General Gordon's view re-
garding, 94 ; Church Mission-
ary Society's interest in, 94 ;
Eoyal Geographical Society's
thoughts turned to, 95 ; Thom-
son asked to undertake explo-
ration of, 95 ; Dr. Fischer's
expedition to, 98 ; Thomson
crosses threshold of, 105 ; his
retreat from, 106 ; second at-
tempt upon, 108 ; progress
through, 110-115 ; coastward
journey through, 122-124.
Masai, character of the peoi^le, 94,
110; first sight of the, 105;
troubles in travelling among
the, 110; description of the,
111 ; of Lykipia, 113
^latambwe people, the, 85
Matjesfontein, life at, 290
Matumbato, district of, 111
Mau, plateau of, 112
Maviti people, the, 85
Meru, Mount, 103
Meyer, Dr. J. Hans, estimate of
Thomson's geological work at
Kilimanjaro, 104
Miauzini, Thomson's two months'
illness at, 122
Mikindany, starting point of
Rovuma expedition, 79
Missions and missionaries, views
on, 179, 180, 192, 231, 252
Mogador, on the way to, 204 ;
experiences at, 205 ; strange
sewage system at, 225
Mohammedanism in the Western
SUdan, 147, 156 ; paper on,
178; Thomson's interest iu,
199
iu Morocco, blighting in-
fluence of, 226
Mokwa, difficulties at, 148
Mombasa, starting-point of ex-
ploration in East Africa, 92 ;
Thomson sets out from, for
Masai-land, 100; return to,
124
Morocco, 'i'homson's interest in,
199 ; exploration of, resolved
upon, 200; frightful misgoveru-
nient of, 204, 208, 213, 222 ;
sad condition of the people, 222,
etc. ; fanaticism in, 225 ; efl'ect
of Islam iu, 226 ; the future of,
227
city, first entry into, 208 ;
first impressions of, 210 ; deca-
dence of art in, 213 ; second
stay in, 219 ; narrow escape in,
220
Mpamanzi River, scenery on the,
256 ; glen of the, 256
M])esini, a Z\i\a despot, 255;
beauty of his country, 265 ;
troubles with, 265; flight from,
266
iVIshiri's reached, 262 ; troubles
with the porters at, 262; re-
treat from, 263
2 A
354
INDEX.
M'siri's kingdom, plans to secure,
for B.S.A. Company, 269,
271
Muohiuga Moiiuiains, 256
Mwaisi, a powerful chief, 255 ;
caiavau kindly treated by,
266
Naivasha, Lake, arrival at, 113 ;
Fischer's retreat fi'om, 113 ;
critical illness of Thomson at,
122
Naples, sojourn in, 305, etc. ;
impressions of, 307
Neniiri pass crossed, 217
New's journeys of exploration, 93
Niger, expedition to the, proposed,
136 ; the National African
Company on the, 136 ; Ger-
many and the, 137 ; Thomson's
departure for and voyage to,
141-143 ; scenery on the, 144 ;
whole middle area of, secured
for Niger Companj', 161 ; com-
mercial importance of the, 173
Nithsdale, description of, 8 ;
Thomson's geological explora-
tion of, 25 ; papers on geology
of, 39
Njemps, Thomson's arrival at,
115; the Wa-Kwafi of, 115;
departure from, 116 ; return to,
from Victoria Nyanza, 120 ;
Thomson attacked by illness
at, 121
Njiri Desert, strange sights in the,
110
Noble, the Hon. John, 248, 268,
289, 303
Nupe, manufacturing genius of
the people, 146 ; present aspect
of, 150; Clappertou's visit to,
150
Nyassa, Lake, reached, 60 ; ex-
ploration of country between,
and Tanganyika, 60 ; visit to,
Irom the south, 254 ; return to,
from last expedition, 266
Ogdimt, Jebel, perilous ascent of,
218
Ornithology, 'J'homson's contribu-
tions to, 344
Palermo, experiences at, 308
I'ambete, adventure at, 60
Paris, first impressions of, 88 ; a
winter in, 174, etc.
Park, Mungo ; scene of his deatli,
152 ; Thomson writes life of,
242 ; estimate of the man,
243
Pelele, strange habit of wearing
the, 85 ; importance attached
to, 86
Penpont, birthplace of the ex-
plorer, 1 ; description of, 4 ;
scenery around, 5; Thomson's
school life at, 5
Plateau, the inner, of East Africa,
59
QuiLiMANE, experiences at, 250
Eabba, Thomson at, 146, 147;
land-journey to Sokoto begun at,
147 ; accident near, 147
Rabbai, TJiomson leaves for
Masai-land, 100; returns to,
124
Piavenstein, E. G., on Thomson
as a geographer, 328
Kebmann; his association with
Krapf, 93; journey to Teita,
93 ; discovery of Kilimanjaro,
93
Reraya glen, 221
Rhodes, Cecil J., Thomson meets,
at Kimberley, 249 ; letter from,
regarding Katanga, 269 ; new
INDEX.
355
proposal by, 285 ; kindness of,
291 ; his Mashonaland cam-
paign, 295 ; defence of, 296
Rovuma, Eiver, Livingstone re-
ports coal at, 76 ; expeditions
of inquiry regarding, 77 ; valley
of, 80 ; confluence with River
Lujende, 80 ; scenes on, 82 ;
sport on, 82 ; various races of
the, 85 ; the Sultan's disappoint-
ment at report on, 86
Kuo River, scene of a murderous
attack on Thomson, 251
Saffi, 204:, 208
Seago, Thomson's assistant in
Niger expedition, 147, 148,
155
Scott-Elliot, G. F., on Thomson
as botanist, 341
Shire, River, 251, 252
Sidi Rehal, starting-point for first
crossing of the Atlas, 215
Smith, Edgar A., on Thomson's
collections of shells, 344
Snake charmer, incident with a,
216
Sokoto, German mission to, 137 ;
Thomson's land-journey to, be-
gun, 147 ; arrival at, 156
Speke, journey to Tanganyika,
92 ; discoveries by, 92
Stanley, H. M., his theory as to
Lukuga, 61 ; his survey work
on the Congo, 61 ; his prophecy
regarding the Lukuga verified,
63 ; views regarding exploration
of Masai-land, 95 ; inaugurates
the Scottish Geographical So-
ciety at Edinburgh, 131 ; his
views on exploration deprecated
by Thomson, 132
Steere, Bishop, Thomson studies
Kiswahili under, 52
Sfis, country of, 222
Tanganyika, Lake, arrival at, 60 ;
exploration of western side of,
61 ; a storm on, 63 ; a two
hundred miles' sail on, 65;
geological evolution of, 89
Tangiers, Thomson at, 202
Taormina, beauties of, 309
Taurirt, Jebel, ascent of, 216
Taveta, arrival at, 101 ; descrip-
tion of, 101 ; retreat to, 106
Teita, discovered by Rebmann,
93 ; a mountain oasis, 100
Teluet, 215, 216
Tensift, River, 205, 207
Tetuan, a trip to, 203
Thomson, William, father of the
explorer, 1 ; account of, 2
Thomson, Joseph, birth of, 1 ;
parents of, 1 ; home-life in
childhood, 3 ; character of, as
a child, 4; early days of, at
Penpont, 4-6; removal to Gate-
lawbridge, 7; influence of his-
toric associations of Nithsdale
upon, 7-10 ; the schoolboy, 11-
19 ; boyish escapades, 13, 16,
18 ; influence of Livingstone
upon, 17 ; discovery of vocation,
18 ; connection with Young
Men's Literary Society at Thorn-
hill, 19 ; joins the Society of
Inquiry, 20 ; early geological
papers, 25 ; interview with
Geikie, 27; works ia quarry,
28 ; goes to college (1875), 29 ;
thoughts about spiritual things,
32-35 ; summer session (1876),
36 ; study under Huxley, 37 ;
practical work in geology, 39 ;
winter session (1877) under
Geikie and Wyville Thomson,
40 ; his medals and prizes, 42;
offers to join Keith Johnston's
expedition, 46 ; appointed as
geologist and naturalist, 47 ;
356
INDEX.
preparations for service, 48 ;
departure for Africa, 50 ; visit
to Berbera, 61 ; life at Zanzi-
bar, 52 ; trip to Usambara, 52 ;
sets out for the interior, 53 ;
takes command of expedition
on Jolinston's death, 56 ; leader-
ship tested, 58; trials on tlie
Inner Plateau of East Africa,
59 ; Nyassa reached, 60 ; Tan-
ganyika reached, 60 ; further
exploration resolved upon, 61 ;
among the Warungu, 61 ; settle-
ment of Lukuga problem, 63 ;
visit to Ujiji, 63 ; leaves for the
Congo, 65 ; terrible experiences
among the Warua, 65 ; two
hundred miles on Tanganyika,
65 ; visits and re-names Lake
Hikwa, 66 ; rest at Unyan-
yembe, 66; arrival at Bagam-
oyo, 69 ; close of first expedition,
70 ; reception on return home,
71 ; first address to Eoyal
Geographical Society, 73 ; first
book published, 75 ; commis-
sioned to report on the coal-beds
of Kiver Eovuma, 78; start of
second expedition, 79 ; failure
to find coal, 81 ; his report a
disappointment to the Sultan,
86 ; return to Scotland, 87 ;
trip to the Iihine, etc., 88 ;
pedestrian feat, 89 ; discussion
with Lieutenant Cameron re-
garding the Lukuga, 90; re-
quested to vmdertake journey
through Masai-land, 95 ; sets
out on third expedition, 97;
difficulty in organising expedi-
tion, 99 ; starts from Mombasa,
100 ; arrives at Taveta, 101 ;
falls into the hands of Mandara,
103 ; first meeting with the
Masai, 105 ; retreat to Taveta,
106 ; a record broken in African
travelling, 106 ; terrors of thirst,
107 ; second start from Taveta,
108 ; passage of the Njiri Desert,
110; troubles among the Masai,
110; interest in phenomena of
the Great Rift Valley, 112 ;
again hits Fischer's route, 113 ;
resolves to make a dash for
Mount Kenia, 113 ; journey
through Likipia, 113; posing
as medicine-man, 114 ; in flight,
115 ; first sight of Lake Baringo,
115; rest at Njcmps, 115; en
route for Victoria Nyanza, 116 ;
arrival in Kavirondo, 119 ;
Victoria Nyanza reached, 119;
narrow escape from King of
Uganda, 119 ; visit to Mount
Elgon, 120; tossed by a buffalo,
120; explores to the north of
Lake Baringo, 121 ; attacked
by dysentery at Njemps, 121;
a three months' struggle with
death, 122 ; the coastward jour-
ney, 123 ; return to Zanzibar,
126 ; voyage home via Bombay,
126 ; efi'ect of liis work in East
Africa, 126 ; appears again before
Royal Geographical Society,
129 ; his views on exploration,
132 ; differs from Stanley, 134 ;
Niger expedition proposed for,
136 ; proposal accepted, 137 ;
'Through Masai-land' pub-
lished, 138; elected as hon.
member of Eoyal Italian and
Royal Scottish Geographical
Societies, 139; Founder's Gold
Medal of Eoyal Geographical
Society bestowed on him, 139 ;
departure for the Niger, 141 ;
disappointment with AVest
Africa, 142 ; arrival at Akassa,
143 ; voyage up the Niger, 143
INDEX.
357
-1-45 ; leaves Kabba for Sokoto,
147 ; encounters a mutiny, 148 ;
reception at Kontokora, 150 ;
at death's door again, 152 ;
entry into city of Sokoto, 156 ;
his experiences at the Sultan's
Court in Wurnu, 156-160; liis
treaties with Sultans of Sokoto
and Gandu, 160, 161 ; returns
from Niger, 163; views on
commercial outlook of East
Central Africa, 165; trip to the
Riviera, 167; on an election
platfotTQ, 171 ; another pedes-
trian feat, 172 ; at British
Association in Birmingham,
173 ; a winter in Paris, 174, etc. ;
an effort in fiction, 189 ; views
on the drink traffic in Africa,
192; awalking tour through Gal-
loway, 194 ; sets out for Morocco,
201; stay at Tangiers, 202;
journey to Mogador, 204 ;
troubles with his men, 206,
208, 215 ; arrival at Morocco
city, 208 ; reaches Demnat,
214; explorations in the Atlas,
215-218, 221, 222 ; sight-seeing
in Morocco city, 219; a narrow
escape, 220 ; recalled home by
East Africa Company to lead
new Emin relief expedition,
228; the plan departed from,
230; views on our Govern-
ment's action in East Africa,
231, 239, 240; oration at un-
veiling of Livingstone's bust at
Stirling, 235 ; book on Morocco
published, 238 ; Continental
trip with J. M. Barrie, 241 ;
writes 'Life of Mungo Park,'
242 ; off to the Zambesi, 245 ;
mission under the British South
Africa Company, 247; meets
with Cecil Rhodes, 249; diffi-
culties at Quilimanc, 250 ; at-
tacked by Portuguese at the
Piiver Iiuo, 251 ; experiences at
Blantyre Mission, 252 ; depar-
ture from Kota-Kota, 254; in
the plain of the Loangwa, 255 ;
joy in the lovely scenery, 256,
257; caravan attacked by small -
pox, 258 ; arrival at Chitambo's,
258; doleful travelling, 260;
compelled to turn, 261; seized
with illness, 261; baffied by
his men, 262 ; a dash for
Manica-land, 263 ; return to
Mshiri's, 263 ; marching in
agony, 264 ; a race with death,
265 ; trotibles with Mpesini,
265 ; return to Kota-Kota, 266 ;
fruits of his journey, 267 ;
under treatment at Blantyre,
267 ; a new journey to Katanga
proposed, 269, 270 ; expedition
stopped, 272 ; home for treat-
ment, 273 ; the Valley of
Shadows, 274; surgical opera-
tion, 276 ; a malignant compli-
cation, 278; escape from the
doctors, 279 ; slow revival at
home, 280 ; the outlook bright-
ening, 284; a new mission in
Africa proposed, 285 ; attack
of pneumonia, 287 ; sojourn at
Bournemouth, 287 ; off to the
Cape, 288; life at Matjcsfon-
tein, 290; hfe at Kimberley,
292, etc. ; resolves to return
home, 300 ; an unfortunate
homecoming, 302 ; prostrate
again, 304 ; sails for Italy, 305 ;
at Naples, 306 ; at Capri, 307 ;
at Palermo, 308 ; at Taormina,
309 ; at Piome, 310 ; stricken
once more at Mentone, 310 ;
back to London, 311 ; stay at
Cromer, 311 ; the end (London,
358
INDEX.
2nd of August, 1895), 313;
funeral, 314 ; his resting-place
in Nithsdale, 315; an apprecia-
tion, 310, etc. ; " The ^Man,"
by J. M. Barrie, 325; "The
Geographer," by E. G. Raven-
stein, 328 ; " 'J he Commercial
Pioneer," by J. Scott Keltie,
331 ; " The Leader," by J. A.
Grant, 335; "The Scientist,"
by Dr. J. W. Gregory, G. F.
Scott-Elliot, W. Betting Hems-
ley, etc., 337 ; list of his j^ub-
lishcd writings, 346 ; list of
honorary titles, 348.
Thomhill, Thomson's schooldays
at, 10; Young Men's Literary
Society at, 19 ; Society of
Inquiry at, 21 ; reception at,
after first expedition, 71 ; burial
at, 314
Tizi-n-Gerint pass crossed, 218
Tizi Likumpt scaled, 221
Tizi-n-Tamjurt, 221
Treaties with Sultans of Sokoto
and Gandu, ] 60 ; with chiefs
in Northern Zambesia, 267
Ubena, country of, 59
Uganda, King of, lays trap for
Thomson, 119; the problem
of, 282; offer to lead the
mission to, 285
Uhehe, country of, 59
Ukhutu, country of, 59
Ulu,' a novel, account of, 190
Umuru, Sultan of Sokoto, 155,
^ 156 ; Thomson's reception by,
157 ; treaty-making with, 158
Unde, picturesque gorge at, 82
Usambara, trip to, 52 ; scenery
of, 52
Victoria Ntaxza Lake, dis-
covered by Speke, 92 ; reached
by Thomson, 119 ; shores of,
119 ; corrections on map of,
119
Vimbe Hills, 258
Volcanic phenomena of Kiliman-
jaro, 102, 105 ; of !Mount Meru,
103 ; of the Great lUft Valley,
112 ; of Donyo Longonot,
113
Wad Gadat, scenery in, 215
Waguha, the, 05
Wa - Kavirondo, the, described,
119
Wakefield, the missionary, 93 ;
quotation from Mrs., 123
Wa - Kikuyu, the, experiences
among, 112
Wa-Kwafi of Taveta and Njemps,
115
Warua, terrible experiences among
the, 65
Warungu, the, adventures among,
61
Wilson, Charles, engaged as assis-
tant, 254; death of, 268
tribute to, 269
Wayao people, the, 85
Writer, Thomson as a, 322
Wurnu, Thomson at, 156, 160;
Barth's visit to, 156
Yauri, country of, 152
LOND-JS ; WM. CLOWES ASD SONS, LIJ'ITED, STAMFORD STKEET ASB CHAKtKG CROSS.
EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS.
"Joseph Thomson was the Bayard of African travel." — The Times.
' ' Joseph Thomson has a front place in the ranks of African explorers, beside
his countrymen, Muugo Park and David Livingstone. ... A worthy and sub-
stantial memorial of a noble character." — Scotsman.
"A most interesting narrative." — Daily Neics.
' ' The charming and sympathetic biography which the Rev. Mr. Thomson
has \vi-itten of his famous brother, whose death Britain and Africa mourned so
sincerely a year ago, is the best thing that has been produced by fraternal piety
since Thomas Hughes composed his delightful ' Memoir of a Brother. ' It tells
the story of a fine and memorable life in simple and well-chosen language, and
will be a precious possession to all who are interested in exploration, but
especially to Scotsmen who are proud that so excellent a man as Joseph Thomson
was their countryman. Like that of most of the pioneers of the Dark Con-
tinent, Mr. Thomson's useful career was cut short by the privations and dangers
that he dared so lightly in the path of duty, which was for him also the path
to glory, as it has been for so many in ' our rough highland story.' Yet he
began so young that a life of only thirty-seven years in all included thirteen
years of active work in Africa. In those years he not only set a nobler example
than any traveller since the heroic Livingstone, but he achieved results which
the best judges describe as 'magnificent.' He sprang almost at a bound to a
place in the front rank of African explorers. His books and papers remain a
recoi'd of the geographical work he did ; it is well that his brother has given us
this account of that much greater thing — his simple, strenuous, and heroic life.
The main facts of that life — how the lad of twenty-one seized the opportunity
thrust upon him by the death of the leader of his first expedition, how he
explored the Central African lakes, and led the way amongst the savage Masai,
and saw Mount Kenia, and climbed the mountains of the Atlas, and finally
assisted in the exploration of the districts about the Zambesi before coming
home to a lingering death-in-life — these facts are sufliciently fresh in men's
minds for us not to need to dwell upon their story, here told in succinct but
fascinating words. The influences that moulded Mr. Thomson's character and
the secret of his success are of more interest to us just now. On these his
biographer throws a pure and brilliant light." — llie Glasfjoio Herald.
' ' The Reverend Mr. Thomson's book, which is well equipped \\'ith maps, is,
in its simplicity of style, brevity and directness, a model of what such a
biography should be. ... A very interesting and valuable book." — The
National Observer.
' ' The record of Thomson's career, as given by his bi-other in the work before
us, is singularly healthful and stimulating. . . . The biographer has done his
work admirably, and the narrative is of engrossing interest from beginning to
end. ' ' — Westminster Gazette.
"When the late Joseph Thomson died, last year, we pointed out that this
country had lost ' the only traveller of our time who, as regards his pluck, his
persistence, and his methods, is worthy to rank with Livingstone.' A perusal
of this modest and sympathetic ' Life ' merely confirms our opinion expressed
at the time." — Pall Mall Gazette.
' ' The late Mr. Joseph Thomson, whose premature death last year, at the
age of thirty-seven, robbed geographical science of one of her most distinguished
and intrepid explorers, has found in his brother a very competent biographer."
— Literary World.
' ' Mr. Thomson has told the story of his brother's career with brevity and
skill, and the book cannot fail to attract many readers." — The Spectator.
' ' Books of travel are unusually numerous at this season. One of the best is
the ' Memoir of the late Joseph Thomson.' " — i'cho.
' ' The stoiy of the life of such a man as Joseph Thomson cannot fail to be
of interest, and no one could be more fit to undei-take the work of wTiting his
biogi'aphy than the brother who had assisted him in his first literary eflorts.
. . . An excellent feature in this book is the manner in which the biographer
ignores himself. . . . He devotes himself entirely to bringing out the dis-
tinguishing features in his brother's character, and thus admirably succeeds in
the task he has undertaken." — 2'hc Field.
" ^'ery infrequently, I .should imagine, does it fall to the lot of a reviewer to
deal with a contribution to South African literature so altogether stimulating
and interesting as is the Rev. J. B. Thomson's life of his brother Joseph. . . .
The author has done his work well, and with an imjiai-tiality and conciseness
seldom attained by the relatives of biographical subjects." — The African Critic.
" The biography of such au explorer was well worth writing, and in these
pages this work has been accomplished in a manner altogether satisfactory. . . ,
Josejih Thomson mu.st have many admhers, both in this country and elsewhere,
and to all these, as ^\■ell as to all interested in heroic exploration, we heartily
commend thLs work." — Manchester Guardian.
"The biography will soon, we confidently anticipate, be one of the most
popular books of the year, a,s Thomson will ever be a hero to all who know his
life-story. " — 2'he Independent.
' ' The handsome volume recording the life and travels of Joseph Thomson,
the famous African explorer, comes opportunely while his memory is still
gi'een, and while attention is being more than ever directed to the great
continent which he did so much to open up. The biogi-apher has done his
Work well, and in the volume of 350 pages — which is none too long — he presents
Joseph Thomson to us as a most interesting personality. . . , The work is
finely printed and bound." — Ediiihurf/h Eveniny JJispatch.
' ' This is, beyond question, one of the finest bits of biography that the
British public have had given to them for a long time. The subject is, of
course, au excellent one ; but the execution leaves nothing to be desired. . . .
The Rev. Mr. Thomson has made, in every respect, a notable contribution to
our standard biographical literature. As was said of one of Joseph Thomson's
own books, we may say of this book : ' It would be impossible to add to the
interest of the nan-ative itself.' . . . Our readers must procure the book.
They will be richly repaid." — Greenock Herald.
' ' Kot every biograjjhy is so interesting as that of ' Joseph Thomson, African
Exjilorer. "... It i^ less the history of a life (and it is that in a full and
accurate degree) than a romance of adventure." — Glasyoic Ectniiifj Netcs.
"In this handsome and handy book the Rev. J. B. Thomson has told in
clear language, without undue embellishment, and with an admirable sense of
projiortion, the main incidents in the life of the gallant young explorer, who in
his short span of thirty-seven years had packed many and great achievements."
— Greenock Telcjrapih.
' ' This is one of the books of the year, and it is likelj' to remain a permanent
addition to the biographical literature of the century. . . . The book is
admirably planned, and the writing is maintained at a high level throughout.
. . . The peculiar charm of the biogi'aphy consists of the story of his boyhood,
and the glimpses we get from correspondence and narrartive of the bypaths of
his life." — Dumfries and Gallouaij Standard. \
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
Ml 1 1978
DISCHARGE-URL
PSD 2338 9/77
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361
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1897
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A 000 473 642 7