arrival at kabinda.—west african merchants.—death among the wangwana.—illness among the people of the expedition.—stanley's anxiety for his followers.—their failing health.—encouraging them with words and kind treatment.—the bane of idleness.—leaving kabinda.—san paulo de loanda.—kindness of the portuguese officials.—h. b. majesty's ship industry.—carried to the cape of good hope.—the wangwana see a "fire-carriage."—to natal and zanzibar.—reception.—disbanding the expedition.—affecting scenes.—stanley's tribute to his followers.
at rest: stanley's quarters at kabinda by the sea.
"after steaming northward from the mouth of the congo for a few hours, we entered the fine bay of kabinda, on the southern shores of which the native town of that name in the country of ngoyo is situate. on the southern point of the bay stands a third factory of the enterprising firm of messrs. hatton & cookson, under the immediate charge of their principal agent, mr. john phillips. a glance at the annexed photograph will sufficiently show the prosperous appearance of the establishment, and the comfortable houses that have been constructed. the expedition received a cordial welcome from messrs. phillips, wills, price, and jones, and i was housed in a cottage surrounded by gardens and overlooking[pg 366] the glorious sea, while the people were located in a large shed fronting the bay.
expedition at kabinda.
(from a photograph by mr. phillips.)
"the next morning when i proceeded to greet the people, i discovered that one of the wangwana had died at sunrise; and when i examined the condition of the other sufferers it became apparent that there was to be yet no rest for me, and that, to save life, i should have to be assiduous and watchful. but for this, i should have surrendered myself to the joys of life, without a thought for myself or for others, and no doubt i should have suffered in the same degree as the wangwana from the effects of the sudden relaxation from care, trouble, or necessity for further effort. there were also other claims on my energies: i had to write my despatches to the journals, and to re-establish those bonds of friendship and sympathetic communion that had been severed by the lapse of dark years and long months of silence. my poor people, however, had no such incentives to rouse themselves from the stupor of indifference, as fatal to them as the cold to a benighted man in a snowy wilderness. housed together in a comfortable, barrack-like building, with every convenience provided for them, and supplied with food, raiment, fuel, water, and an excess of luxuries, nothing remained for them to do; and the consequence was, that the abrupt dead-stop to all action and movement overwhelmed them, and plunged them into a state of torpid brooding from which it was difficult to arouse them.
"the words of the poet—
"'what's won is done: joy's soul lies in the doing—'
"or, as longfellow has it—
"'the reward is in the doing,
and the rapture of pursuing
is the prize'—
"recurred to me, as explaining why it was that the people abandoned themselves to the dangerous melancholy created by inactivity. i was charmed by it myself;[pg 367]
[pg 368] the senses were fast relapsing into a drowsy state, that appeared to be akin to the drowsiness of delirium. no novel or romance interested me, though mr. phillips's cottage possessed a complete library of fiction and light reading. dickens seemed rubbish, and the finest poems flat. frequently, even at meals, i found myself subsiding into sleep, though i struggled against it heroically; wine had no charm for me; conversation fatigued me. yet the love of society, and what was due to my friendly hosts, acted as a wholesome restraint and a healthy stimulant; but what had the poor, untutored black strangers, whose homes were on the east side of the continent, to rouse them and to stimulate them into life?
group of mr. stanley's followers at kabina, west coast of africa, just after crossing the "dark continent."
(from a photograph by mr. phillips, of kabinda.)
"'do you wish to see zanzibar, boys?' i asked.
"'ah, it is far. nay, speak not, master. we shall never see it,' they replied.
"'but you will die if you go on in this way. wake up—shake yourselves—show yourselves to be men.'
"'can a man contend with god? who fears death? let us die undisturbed, and be at rest forever,' they answered.
scenery on the west coast of africa.
"brave, faithful, loyal souls! they were, poor fellows, surrendering themselves to the benumbing influences of a listlessness and fatal indifference to life! four of them died in consequence of this strange malady at loanda, three more on board h.m.s. industry, and one woman breathed her last the day after we arrived at zanzibar. but in their sad death they had one consolation, in the words which they kept constantly repeating to themselves:
"'we have brought our master to the great sea, and he has seen his white[pg 369] brothers, la il allah, il allah! there is no god but god!' they said—and died.
"it is not without an overwhelming sense of grief, a choking in the throat, and swimming eyes, that i write of those days, for my memory is still busy with the worth and virtues of the dead. in a thousand fields of incident, adventure, and bitter trials they had proved their stanch heroism and their fortitude; they had lived and endured nobly. i remember the enthusiasm with which they responded to my appeals; i remember their bold bearing during the darkest days; i remember the spartan pluck, the indomitable courage with which they suffered in the days of our adversity. their voices again loyally answer me, and again i hear them address each other upon the necessity of standing by the 'master.' their boat-song, which contained sentiments similar to the following—
"'the pale-faced stranger, lonely here,
in cities afar, where his name is dear,
your arab truth and strength shall show;
he trusts in us, row, arabs, row—
"despite all the sounds which now surround me, still charms my listening ear.
a dandy of san paulo de loanda.
"the expedition, after a stay of eight days at kabinda, was kindly taken on board the portuguese gunboat taméga, commander josé marquez, to san paulo de loanda. the portuguese officers distinguished themselves by a superb banquet, and an exhibition of extraordinary courtesy towards myself, and great sympathy towards my followers. two gentlemen, major serpa pinto and senhor josé avelino fernandez, who were on board, extended their hospitalities so far as to persuade me to accompany them to their residence in the capital of angola. to house the one hundred and fourteen wangwana who accompanied me was a great task on the liberality of these gentlemen, but the portuguese governor-general of angola nobly released them and myself from all obligations, and all the expenses incurred by us from the 21st of august to the 27th of september were borne by the colony. one of the first acts of governor-general albuquerque was to despatch his aide-de-camp with offers of assistance, money, and a gunboat to convey me to lisbon, which received, as it deserved, my warmest thanks. the portuguese commodore gave a banquet to the portuguese explorers. major serpa pinto, commander brito capello, and lieutenant roberto ivens, who were about setting out for the exploration of the kunené or noursé river, as far as bihé, thence to lake nyassa and mozambique, and upon the festive occasion they honored me. the board of works at loanda also banqueted us royally; as also did mr. michael tobin, the banker, while mr. hubert newton was unceasing in his hospitalities.
"the government hospital at luanda was open to the sick strangers; doctor[pg 370] lopez and his assistants daily visited the sick-ward of our residence, and a trained nurse was detailed to attend the suffering. pure samaritanism animated the enthusiastic senhor capello, and free, unselfish charity inspired my friend avelino fernandez to watch and tend the ailing, desponding, and exhausted travellers.
"nor must the english officers of the royal navy be forgotten for their chivalrous kindness. when i was wondering whether i should be compelled to lead the wangwana across the continent to their homes, they solved my doubts and anxieties by offering the expedition a passage to cape town in h.m.s. industry. the offer of the portuguese governor-general to convey me in a gunboat to lisbon, and the regular arrivals of the portuguese mail steamers, were very tempting, but the condition of my followers was such that i found it impossible to leave them.
"the cordial civilities that were accorded to us at loanda were succeeded by equally courteous treatment on board the industry. her officers, captain dyer, assistant-surgeon william brown, and paymaster edwin sandys, assisted me to the utmost of their ability in alleviating the sufferings of the sick and reviving the vigor of the desponding. but the accomplished surgeon found his patients most difficult cases. the flame of life flickered and spluttered, and to fan it into brightness required in most of the cases patience and tact more than medicine. yet there was a little improvement in them, though they were still heavy-eyed.
"upon arriving at simon's bay, cape of good hope, on the 21st of october, i was agreeably surprised by a most genial letter, signed by commodore francis william sullivan, who invited me to the admiralty house as his guest, and from whom during the entire period of our stay at the cape we met with the most hearty courtesy and hospitality. he had also made preparations for transporting the expedition to zanzibar, when a telegram from the lords of the british admiralty was received, authorizing him to provide for the transmission of my followers to their homes, an act of gracious kindness for which i have recorded elsewhere my most sincere thanks.
"had we been able to accept all the invitations that were showered upon us by the kind-hearted colonists of south africa, from cape town to natal, it is possible we might still be enjoying our holiday at that remote end of africa, but her majesty's ship could not be delayed for our pleasure and gratification. but during the time she was refitting, the authorities of cape town and stellenbosch, through the influence of lady frere, commodore sullivan, and captain mills, colonial secretary, exerted themselves so zealously to gratify and honor us, that i attribute a large share of the recovery in health of my followers to the cordial and unmistakable heartiness of the hospitalities they there enjoyed. here the wangwana saw for the first time the 'fire-carriage,' and, accompanied by commodore sullivan, the dean of cape town, and several of the leading residents of the cape, the expedition was whirled to stellenbosch at the rate of thirty miles an hour, which, of all the wonders they had viewed, seemed to them the most signal example of the wonderful enterprise and superior intelligence of the european.
"i ought not to omit describing a little episode that occurred soon after our arrival in simon's bay. for the first three days after landing at simon's town, blustering gales prevented me from returning to the ship. the people thereupon[pg 371]
[pg 372] became anxious, and wondered whether this distant port was to terminate my connection with them. on returning to the ship, therefore, i found them even more melancholy than when i had left them. i asked the reason.
view of san paulo de loanda—the fort of san miguel on the right.
"'you will return to ulyah' (europe), 'of course, now.'
"'why?'
"'oh, do we not see that you have met your friends, and all these days we have felt that you will shortly leave us?'
"'who told you so?' i asked, smiling at the bitterness visible in their faces.
"'our hearts; and they are very heavy.'
"'ah! and would it please you if i accompanied you to zanzibar?'
"'why should you ask, master? are you not our father?'
"'well, it takes a long time to teach you to rely upon the promise of your father. i have told you, over and over again, that nothing shall cause me to break my promise to you that i would take you home. you have been true to me, and i shall be true to you. if we can get no ship to take us, i will walk the entire distance with you until i can show you to your friends at zanzibar.'
"'now we are grateful, master.'
[pg 373]
[pg 374]
dhows in the harbor of zanzibar.
"i observed no sad faces after this day, and captain dyer and his officers noticed how they visibly improved and brightened up from this time.
"on the 6th of november h.m.s. industry was equipped and ready for her voyage to zanzibar. on the twelfth of the month she dropped anchor in the harbor of natal to coal, and fourteen days after her departure from natal the palmy island of zanzibar rose into sight, and in the afternoon we were bearing straight for port.
the recuperated and reclad expedition as it appeared at admiralty house, simon's town, after our arrival on h.m.s. "industry."
"as i looked on the wangwana, and saw the pleasure which now filled every soul, i felt myself amply rewarded for sacrificing several months to see them home. the sick had, all but one, recovered, and they had improved so much in appearance that few, ignorant of what they had been, could have supposed that these were the living skeletons that had reeled from sheer weakness through boma.
"the only patient who had baffled our endeavors to restore her to health was the woman muscati, unfortunate safeni's wife. singular to relate, she lived to be embraced by her father, and the next morning died in his arms, surrounded by her relatives and friends. but all the others were blessed with redundant health—robust, bright, and happy.
"and now the well-known bays and inlets, and spicy shores and red-tinted bluffs of mbwenni enraptured them. again they saw what they had often despaired of seeing: the rising ridge of wilezu, at the foot of which they knew were their homes and their tiny gardens; the well-known features of shangani and melindi; the tall square mass of the sultan's palace. each outline, each house, from the sandy point to their own ngambu, each well-remembered bold swell of land, with its glories of palm and mango-tree, was to them replete with associations of bygone times.
"the captain did not detain them on board. the boats were all lowered at once, and they crowded the gangway and ladder. i watched the first boat-load.
"to those on the beach it was a surprise to see so many white-shirted, turbaned men making for shore from an english man-of-war. were they slaves—or what? no; slaves they could not be, for they were too well dressed. yet what could they be?
"the boat-keel kissed the beach, and the impatient fellows leaped out and upward, and danced in ecstasy on the sands of their island; they then kneeled down, bowed their faces to the dear soil, and cried out, with emotion, their thanks to allah! to the full they now taste the sweetness of the return home. the glad tidings ring out along the beach, 'it is bwana stanley's expedition that has returned.'
"then came bounding towards them their friends, acquaintances, countrymen, asking ever so many questions, all burning to know all about it. where had they been? how came they to be on board the man-of-war? what had they seen? who was dead? where is so-and-so? you have gone beyond nyangwé to the other sea? mashallah!
"the boats come and go.
"more of the returned braves land, jump and frisk about, shake hands, embrace firmly and closely; they literally leap into each other's arms, and there are many wet eyes there, for some terrible tales are told of death, disaster, and woe by the most voluble of the narrators, who seem to think it incumbent on them to tell all[pg 375] the news at once. the minor details, which are a thousand and a thousand, shall be told to-morrow and the next day, and the next, and for days and years to come.
"the ship was soon emptied of her strange passengers. captain sullivan, of the london, came on board, and congratulated me on my safe arrival, and then i went on shore to my friend mr. augustus sparhawk's house. we will pass over whatever may have transpired among the reunited friends, relatives, acquaintances, etc., but i will give substantially what mabruki, a stout, bright-eyed lad, the nestor of the youths during the expedition, related of his experiences the next day.
"'well, mabruki, tell me, did you see your mother?' mabruki, knowing i have a lively curiosity to know all about the meeting, because he had been sometimes inclined to despair of seeing poor old 'mamma' again, relaxes the severe tightness of his face, and out of his eyes there gushes such a flood of light as shows him to be brimful of happiness, and he hastens to answer, with a slight bob of the head,
"'yes, master.'
"'is she quite well? how does she look? what did she say when she saw her son such a great strong lad? come, tell me all about it.'
"'i will tell you—but ah! she is old now. she did not know me at first, because i burst open the door of our house, and i was one of the foremost to land, and i ran all the way from the boat to the house. she was sitting talking with a friend. when the door opened she cried out, "who?"
"'"mi-mi, ma-ma. it is i, mother. it is i—mabruki, mother. it is i, returned from the continent."
"'"what! mabruki, my son!"
"'"verily it is i, mother."
"'she could scarcely believe i had returned, for she had heard no news. but soon all the women round about gathered together near the door, while the house was full to hear the news; and they were all crying and laughing and talking so fast, which they kept up far into the night. she is very proud of me, master. when the dinner was ready over twenty sat down to share with us. "oh!" they all said, "you are a man indeed, now that you have been farther than any arab has ever been."'
"four days of grace i permitted myself to procure the thousands of rupees required to pay off the people for their services. messages had also been sent to the relatives of the dead, requesting them to appear at mr. sparhawk's, prepared to make their claims good by the mouths of three witnesses.
"on the fifth morning the people—men, women, and children—of the anglo-american expedition, attended by hundreds of friends, who crowded the street and the capacious rooms of the bertram agency, began to receive their well-earned dues.
"the women, thirteen in number, who had borne the fatigues of the long, long journey, who had transformed the stern camp in the depths of the wilds into something resembling a village in their own island, who had encouraged their husbands to continue in their fidelity despite all adversity, were all rewarded.
"the children of the chiefs who had accompanied us from zanzibar to the atlantic, and who, by their childish, careless prattle, had often soothed me in mid-africa, and had often caused me to forget my responsibilities for the time,[pg 376] were not forgotten. neither were the tiny infants—ushered into the world amid the dismal and tragic scenes of the cataract lands, and who, with their eyes wide open with wonder, now crowed and crooned at the gathering of happy men and elated women about them—omitted in this final account and reckoning.
"the second pay-day was devoted to hearing the claims for wages due to the faithful dead. poor faithful souls! with an ardor and a fidelity unexpected, and an immeasurable confidence, they had followed me to the very death. true, negro nature had often asserted itself, but it was after all but human nature. they had never boasted that they were heroes, but they exhibited truly heroic stuff while coping with the varied terrors of the hitherto untrodden and apparently endless wilds of broad africa.
1. wife of murabo.
2. wife of robert.
3. wife of mana koko.
4. half-caste of ganbaragara, whom wadi rehani married.
5. zaidi's wife.
6. wife of wadi baraka.
7. wife of manwa sera.
8. wife of chowpereh.
9. wife of muini pembé.
10. wife of muscati.
11. wife of chiwonda.
12. wife of mufta.
the women of the expedition.
"the female relatives filed in. with each name of the dead, old griefs were remembered. the poignant sorrow i felt—as the fallen were named after each successive conflict in those dark days never to be forgotten by me—was revived. sad and subdued were the faces of those i saw; as sad and subdued as my own feelings. with such sympathies between us we soon arrived at a satisfactory understanding. each woman was paid without much explanation required—one witness was sufficient. there were men, however, who were put to great shifts. they appeared to have no identity. none of my own people would vouch for the relationship; no respectable man knew them. several claimed money upon the ground that they were acquaintances; that they had been slaves under one master, and had become freemen together on their master's death. parents and brothers were not difficult to identify. the settlement of the claims lasted five days, and then—the anglo-american expedition was no more.
"on the 13th of december the british india steam navigation company's steamer pachumba sailed from zanzibar for aden, on board which mr. william mackinnon had ordered a state-room for me. my followers through africa had all left their homes early, that they might be certain to arrive in time to witness my departure. they were there now, every one of them arrayed in the picturesque dress of their countrymen. the fulness of the snowy dishdasheh and the amplitude of the turban gave a certain dignity to their forms, and each sported a light cane. upon inquiring i ascertained that several had already purchased handsome little properties—houses and gardens—with their wages, proving that the long journey had brought, with its pains and rough experience, a good deal of thrift and wisdom.
"when i was about to step into the boat, the brave, faithful fellows rushed before me and shot the boat into the sea, and then lifted me up on their heads and carried me through the surf into the boat.
"we shook hands twenty times twenty, i think, and then at last the boat started.
"i saw them consult together, and presently saw them run down the beach and seize a great twenty-ton lighter, which they soon manned and rowed after me. they followed me thus to the steamer, and a deputation of them came on board, headed by the famous uledi, the coxswain; kachéché, the chief detective; robert, my indispensable factotum; zaidi, the chief, and wadi rehani, the storekeeper, to inform me that they still considered me as their master, and that they would not leave zanzibar until they received a letter from me announcing my safe arrival in[pg 377]
[pg 378] my own country. i had, they said, taken them round all africa to bring them back to their homes, and they must know that i had reached my own land before they would go to seek new adventures on the continent, and—simple, generous souls!—that if i wanted their help to reach my country they would help me!
stanley, as he left england for africa in 1874.
"they were sweet and sad moments, those of parting. what a long, long and true friendship was here sundered! through what strange vicissitudes of life had they not followed me! what wild and varied scenes had we not seen together! what a noble fidelity these untutored souls had exhibited! the chiefs were those who had followed me to ujiji in 1871; they had been witnesses of the joy of livingstone at the sight of me; they were the men to whom i intrusted the safeguard of livingstone on his last and fatal journey, who had mourned by his corpse at muilala, and borne the illustrious dead to the indian ocean.
[pg 379]
stanley, as he reached zanzibar in 1877.
"and in a flood of sudden recollection, all the stormy period here ended rushed in upon my mind; the whole panorama of danger and tempest through which these gallant fellows had so stanchly stood by me—these gallant fellows now parting from me. rapidly, as in some apocalyptic vision, every scene of strife with man and nature through which these poor men and women had borne me company, and solaced me by the simple sympathy of common suffering, came hurrying across my memory; for each face before me was associated with some adventure or some peril, reminded me of some triumph or of some loss. what a wild, weird retrospect it was, that mind's flash over the troubled past! so like a troublous dream!
"and for years and years to come, in many homes in zanzibar, will be told the great story of our journey, and the actors in it will be heroes among their kith[pg 380] and kin. for me, too, they are heroes, these poor, ignorant children of africa; for, from the first deadly struggle in savage ituru to the last staggering rush into embomma, they had rallied to my voice like veterans, and in the hour of need they had never failed me. and thus, aided by their willing hands and by their loyal hearts, the expedition had been successful, and the three great problems of the dark continent's geography had been fairly solved."
fred paused and closed the book. the young gentleman's voice was husky; in fact it had been so at several points in his reading, and there were tears in his eyes as a natural accompaniment of the huskiness. he had been compelled to stop two or three times while reading mr. stanley's letter appealing "to any gentleman who speaks english at embomma" to send relief to his starving companions, and also when he read the account of the arrival of the caravan with provisions for the suffering, dying people. fred's auditors were equally affected by this touching narrative, and not one of them ventured to utter a word for fear he should break down before completing a single sentence. for two or three minutes no one moved or spoke. finally doctor bronson made a remark that "broke the ice," and the formalities of the occasion came to an end.
"that story of the suffering and relief in the last days of the journey through the dark continent always brings tears to my eyes," said the doctor, as the party separated. "in paris, in 1878, i was at a dinner party at which stanley was the principal guest. he was then fresh from africa, and when pressed to tell us something of his experience there he gave the story which you have just heard. when he repeated the contents of his letter, which he did from memory, and told of the prompt and generous response to his appeal, every cheek at that table was wet, and every one of the twenty or more men that composed the party pronounced it the most affecting story he had ever heard."
and with this little incident the members of the eider geographical society adjourned to the open air.
