the last meeting on board the eider.—founding the free state of congo.—mr. stanley's later work on the great river.—building roads and establishing stations.—making peace with the natives.—bula matari.—resources of the congo valley.—stanley's latest book.—steamers on the river.—the congo railway.—stanley's present mission in africa.—emin pasha and his work.—how stanley proposes to relieve him.—dr. schnitzler.—bey or pasha?—mwanga, king of uganda.—his hostility to white men.—killing bishop hannington.—the egyptian equatorial province.—letter from stanley.—his plans for the relief expedition.—tippu-tib and his men.—from zanzibar to the congo.
on the next day there was another meeting of the geographical society, at which votes of thanks were given to frank and fred for their successful effort to interest and amuse their fellow-voyagers. one of the latter suggested that it would be a good plan to ask the author of the "boy traveller series" to make a book for young people by condensing the two volumes of "through the dark continent" into one, just as frank and fred had condensed them for the readings they had given on board the steamer. the suggestion was unanimously approved, and in compliance with it this book has been prepared.
doctor bronson said they would be pleased to know that "through the dark continent" was simultaneously issued in nine languages, an honor never before shown to a book on its first publication. one of the youths said he believed mr. stanley had published another book about the congo country; he wished to know its title so that he could get a copy, as he was sure it would be interesting.
"i'll tell you about that book," said the doctor, "and why it was written. while mr. stanley was making his journey which is described in "through the dark continent," an association was formed in belgium for the purpose of developing trade and pushing civilization in africa. it was under the patronage of leopold ii., king of the belgians, and soon after mr. stanley returned to europe king leopold engaged him to go to africa and manage the affairs of the international african association,[pg 382] as the new enterprise was called. he went to the congo valley in 1879 and remained there nearly six years. he made two or three trips to europe during the period of his engagement, and one trip to zanzibar; with the exception of the time spent on these journeys, he was occupied with personally supervising the work of developing trade and civilization on the congo."
ngahma, a congo chief.
"how did he do it?" was the very natural interrogatory that followed.
"he employed a large number of natives from the coast, zanzibaris and others, and established stations at various points along the river. his first station is at the foot of the last cataracts on the congo, and is called vivi; steamboats and ships of light draft can land at its wharves and deliver or receive merchandise without difficulty. from vivi he built a wagon-road among the hills and across the plains on the north bank of the congo to the isangila cataract, where he established isangila station. along the road he carried steamboats which had been so built that they could be readily taken apart, and put together again when[pg 383] navigable water was reached. above isangila there is a distance of ninety miles where the congo is navigable, and here the steamboats were used for purposes of transportation until falls were reached again. then another station (manyanga) was established, more road was built, and so on step by step mr. stanley reached stanley pool, at the head of the group of cataracts that obstruct the navigation of the lower congo. here he established a station and started the town of leopoldville, the name being given in honor of the illustrious patron of the enterprise.
view of vivi, from the isangila road.
"it was slow work building roads, transporting material, goods, and provisions, establishing stations, negotiating with the local chiefs, and in other ways performing the work of permanent colonization along the great river. the expedition landed at vivi in september, 1879; it was not until june, 1881, that it reached stanley pool, above the highest of the cataracts. to say that the africans were astonished at the enterprise is to state the case very feebly. they gave stanley the name of bula matari (rock breaker), in consequence of his cutting through the rocks in his work of road-making. such a thing had never before been known in africa, and as bula matari he is known there to this day and will long be remembered.
[pg 384]
port of leopoldville.
"from stanley pool the congo is navigable to stanley falls, a distance of nearly one thousand miles. as soon as the steamers could be put together and affairs at leopoldville were in a tranquil condition, mr. stanley proceeded up the river and established stations at various points. then he explored some of the tributaries of the great river, discovered a lake which he named leopold ii., established peaceable relations with the native tribes, opened trade wherever trade was possible, and learned as much as he could about the country and its sources. on his first expedition, described in 'through the dark continent,' he learned enough to convince him that the resources of the congo were very great; what he ascertained during his later explorations confirmed in every way his earlier impressions and made him an enthusiastic advocate of the settlement and development of the congo basin.
"i haven't time to give you more than a bare outline of the work he performed there. the story is told in his later book, 'the congo, and the founding of its free state,' a work in two volumes, which, like the 'dark continent,' has been published in several languages. mr. stanley returned from africa in season to take part in the congress or conference[pg 385] of nations at berlin in the latter part of 1884, where the affairs of the congo state were discussed and an international treaty was made establishing the relations of the new state with the rest of the world. the country was opened to the commerce of all nations on the principle of free trade; a large territory on the north of the congo state was given to france, while the right of portugal to a large area on the south was established. previous to the conference there was a threat of trouble with both france and portugal, but all was made smooth when the plenipotentiaries met and talked matters over.
"the progress of civilization on the congo has been very rapid," doctor bronson continued. "before mr. stanley's adventurous journey in 1877 no white man had looked upon the congo between nyangwé and the lower cataracts; now there are permanent stations and trading posts all the way along the great stream from its mouth to stanley falls, and several stations have been established on the tributaries of the congo wherever there is a promise of commerce. the route to nyangwé is as safe as any part of africa, and from thence to tanganika lake and zanzibar there are no obstacles to traffic and travel. recently a young officer of the swedish navy crossed the african continent by way of the congo, nyangwé, and lake tanganika, and thence by the usual route to zanzibar. he made the entire journey in seven months, or in two months less time than was taken by stanley for his descent of the congo from nyangwé to boma."
one of the youths asked how many steamboats are now on the congo and its tributaries.
a photograph.
"mr. stanley told me this morning," replied the doctor, "that there are eight steamers running above leopoldville and stanley pool, and two on the ninety-mile strip of navigable water between the isangila[pg 386] fall and manyanga. several new steamers will be placed on the congo during 1887, some by the congo state, others by an american trading company, and others by the missionaries. by the end of 1887 it is probable that not fewer than twenty steamers will be established on the congo, at least fifteen of them above the lower series of falls. it is in contemplation to place steamers above stanley falls, so that navigation can be continued to nyangwé and thus shorten the time of transit from the lower congo to lake tanganika. the whole valley of the congo is open to the commerce of the world only ten years after mr. stanley's famous journey 'through the dark continent.'"
a congo house.
the doctor paused a moment to glance at a slip which had been cut from a newspaper, and then continued:
"at its mouth the congo river is of enormous depth, but only one hundred miles or so above stanley pool, captain braconnier said, a year or two ago, that 'steam-launches drawing barely two and a half feet of water have to be dragged along by our men.' h. h. johnston mentions the same fact in his description of the congo. 'our boat is constantly running aground on sand-banks,' he wrote. 'it has an extraordinary effect to see men walking half-way over a great branch of the river, with water only up to their ankles, tracing the course of some hidden sand-bank.' stanley, johnston, and others attributed the remarkable shallowness of the river to its great breadth in this part of its course; but none of them knew how wide the river really is above the kassai river.
"we now have some new light on this question, which is a very interesting one, because the congo is next to the greatest river in the world, and new discoveries with regard to it are apt to be on a large scale. captain rouvier has been surveying this part of the river, and[pg 387] he finds that for a distance of about fifty miles the congo is much wider than was supposed. its width, in fact, is from fifteen to twenty miles, a circumstance that has not been discovered before on account of many long islands, some of which have always been taken for one shore of the river. it follows, therefore, that there is an expanse on the upper congo similar to and very much larger than stanley pool. steamboats have passed each other in this enlargement of the river without knowing of each other's proximity.
the effect of civilization.
"it is easy to understand, therefore, how it happens that the congo is in this place so very shallow, while in narrow portions of the lower river no plummet-line has ever yet touched bottom. navigation in this part of the congo would be almost impossible were it not that here and there soundings are revealing channels deep and wide enough for all the requirements of steamboat traffic.
"the great explorer has planned a railway from vivi to leopoldville, so that the lower series of falls on the river will no longer be a[pg 388] hinderance to commerce. this railway will be about two hundred and thirty-five miles long, and mr. stanley estimates its cost and equipment at something less than five millions of dollars, or one million pounds sterling. he estimates its annual revenue from freight alone at one and a half million dollars, while the passenger business would not be an unimportant item. the up-freights would consist of cotton cloth, beads, wire, muskets, gunpowder, cutlery, china-ware, iron, and other african 'trade-goods,' while the down-freights would include ivory, palm-oil, ground-nuts, hippopotamus teeth and hides, rubber, beeswax, gum copal, monkey and other skins, and several kinds of fine woods used in cabinet-making. doubtless other products of central africa would come into market which are now unknown in consequence of the high cost of transportation.
a native of the lower congo.
"mr. stanley says the navigable waters of the congo basin that would have their outlet through the congo railway are more than five thousand miles in length, draining a country of more than a million square miles, much of which is well peopled. the free state of congo, as defined by the berlin conference, includes a territory of one million five hundred and eight thousand square miles, with a population estimated at forty-two million six hundred and eight thousand. north of the congo state is the french possession of sixty-two thousand square miles and two million one hundred and twenty-one thousand six hundred inhabitants, and on the south is the portuguese territory of thirty thousand seven hundred square miles and three hundred thousand inhabitants. so you see the congo state, which our friend has created, is one third the area of the united states and more than one half its population.
"and here," said the doctor, "is a speech made by mr. stanley at a dinner which was given to him by the lotos club of new york, in november, 1886. i will read an extract from it, with your permission."
everybody signified a desire to hear it, whereupon doctor bronson read as follows:
[pg 389]
"i set out to africa intending to complete livingstone's explorations, also to settle the nile problem as to where the head-waters of the nile were, as to whether lake victoria consisted of one lake, one body of water, or a number of shallow lakes; to throw some light on sir samuel baker's albert nyanza, and also to discover the outlet of lake tanganika, and then to find out what strange, mysterious river this was which livingstone saw at nyangwé—whether it were the nile, the niger, or the congo. edwin arnold, the author of 'the light of asia,' said, 'do you think you can do all this?' 'don't ask me such a conundrum as that. put down the funds and tell me to go. that's all.' and he induced lawson, the proprietor, to consent. the funds were had, and i went.
"first of all we settled the problem of the victoria; that it was one body of water; that instead of being a cluster of shallow lakes or marshes, it was one body of water, twenty-one thousand five hundred square miles in extent. while endeavoring to throw light upon sir samuel baker's albert nyanza, we discovered a new lake, a much superior lake to the albert nyanza—the dead locust lake—and at the same time gordon pasha sent his lieutenant to discover and circumnavigate the albert nyanza, and he found it to be only a miserable one hundred and forty miles, because baker, in a fit of enthusiasm, had stood on the brow of a high plateau and, looking down on the dark-blue waters of albert nyanza, cried, romantically: 'i see it extending indefinitely towards the southwest!' 'indefinitely' is not a geographical expression, gentlemen.
"we found that there was no outlet to the tanganika, although it was a sweet-water lake. after settling that problem, day after day, as we glided down the strange river that had lured and bewildered livingstone, we were in as much doubt as livingstone had been when he wrote his last letter and said: 'i will never be made black man's meat for anything less than the classic nile.' after travelling four hundred miles we came to the stanley falls, and beyond them we saw the river deflect from its nileward course towards the northwest. then it turned west, and visions of towers and towns and strange tribes and strange nations broke upon our imagination, and we wondered what we were going to see, when the river suddenly took a decided turn towards the southwest, and our dreams were terminated. we saw then that it was aiming directly for the congo, and when we had propitiated some natives whom we encountered by showing them crimson beads and polished wire that had been polished for the occasion, we said: 'this for your answer. what river is this?' 'why, it is the river, of course.' that was not an answer, and it required some persuasion before the chief, bit by bit, digging into his brain, managed to roll out sonorously the words: 'it is the ko-to-yah congo'—'it is the river of congoland.'
"alas for our classic dreams! alas for crophi and mophi, the fabled fountains of herodotus! alas for the banks of the river where moses was found by the daughter of pharaoh! this is the parvenu congo! then we glided on and on, past strange nations and cannibals—not past those nations which have their heads under their arms—for eleven hundred miles, until we arrived at a circular extension of the river, and my last remaining white companion called it the stanley pool, and then, five months after that, our journey ended.
"after that i had a very good mind to come back to america and say, like the queen of uganda, 'there, what did i tell you?' but you know the fates would[pg 390] not permit me to come over in 1878. the very day i landed in europe, the king of italy gave me an express train to convey me to france, and the very moment i descended from it at marseilles, there were three ambassadors from the king of the belgians, asking me to go back to africa.
"'what! back to africa? never! i have come for civilization. i have come for enjoyment. i have come for love, for life, for pleasure. not i. go and ask some of those people you know who have never yet been to africa. i have had enough of it.' 'well, perhaps, by and by—' 'ah, i don't know what will happen by and by, but just now, never, never! not for rothschild's wealth!'
"i was received by the paris geographical society, and it was then i began to feel, 'well, after all, i have done something, haven't i?' i felt superb. but you know i have always considered myself a republican. i have those bullet-riddled flags and those arrow-torn flags, the stars and stripes, that i carried in africa for the discovery of livingstone, and that crossed africa, and i venerate those old flags. i have them in london, now jealously guarded in the secret recesses of my cabinet. i allow only my best friends to look at them, and if any of you gentlemen ever happen in at my quarters, i will show them to you.
"after i had written my book, 'through the dark continent,' i began to lecture, using these words: 'i have passed through a land watered by the largest river of the african continent, and that land knows no owner. a word to the wise is sufficient. you have cloths and hardware and glass-ware and gunpowder, and those millions of natives have ivory and gums and rubber and dyestuffs, and in barter there is good profit.
"'the king of the belgians commissioned me to go to that country. my expedition when we started from the coast numbered three hundred colored people and fourteen europeans. we returned with three thousand trained black men and three hundred europeans. the first sum allowed to me was $50,000 per year, but it has ended at something like $700,000 a year. thus you see the progress of civilization. we found the congo having only canoes. to-day there are eight steamers. it was said at first that king leopold was a dreamer. he dreamed he could unite the barbarians of africa into a confederacy and call it a free state; but on february 25, 1885, the powers of europe, and america also, ratified an act recognizing the territories acquired by us to be the free and independent state of the congo.'
"perhaps when the members of the lotos club have reflected a little more upon the value of what livingstone and leopold have been doing, they will also agree that these men have done their duty in this world, and in the age that they live, and that their labor has not been in vain, on account of the great sacrifices they have made, to the benighted millions of dark africa."
here the doctor paused to enable his listeners to ponder a few moments on the magnitude of the work which their hero had accomplished, and also to wait for any question which might be asked. the first interrogatory referred to mr. stanley's present mission to africa, for which he had abandoned his lecturing tour in america.
[pg 391]
"what is he going to africa for now?" said one of the youths. "i have read that it is to relieve somebody who is shut up in the middle of the country and can't get out."
"you are quite right," was the reply, "but in order to have you comprehend the situation i must give you a little explanation.
emin pasha.
"most of you know," the doctor continued, "about the rebellion in the soudan country several years ago by which egypt lost her possessions in central africa, and her power was completely overthrown in a region that she had held for more than sixty years, or had conquered since that time. khartoum was captured, general gordon was killed, and the provinces of the soudan became independent of the khedive. many of the white men in the country were forced to enter the service of the rebels in order to save their lives, as escape was next to impossible.
[pg 392]
"this was the case in the northern part of the soudan, and it was generally supposed that the same state of affairs prevailed farther south. the equatorial province of the egyptian soudan was entirely cut off from communication with the outer world, and the belief was general that its governor, emin bey, had been killed by the rebels. but in the latter part of 1886 news came that he was still alive, and had maintained his position in a hostile country through the fidelity of the egyptian troops that remained with him. he was short of ammunition and destitute of many other things necessary for the support of his people, his soldiers were in rags, and he feared that he would not be able to hold out much longer unless relief was sent to him."
blacksmith's forge and bellows.
one of the youths asked how the news was brought from emin's province so that the rest of the world could get it.
"it was brought," was the reply, "by dr. junker, a russian scientist, who was with emin at the time of the insurrection. you remember king mtesa of uganda, whom mr. stanley converted to christianity and who asked that missionaries should be sent to instruct his people? well, the missionaries went there and were well received, but before they had accomplished anything of consequence mtesa died and was succeeded by his son mwanga. the son was opposed to the new religion, and very soon after he was raised to the throne he imprisoned the missionaries and ordered all of his people who had embraced christianity to be put to death. bishop hannington, who had gone from england[pg 393] to take charge of the mission work in central africa, was killed by orders of mwanga, and all white men were forbidden to set foot in the country. dr. junker came through uganda on his way to the sea-coast, but he was brought ostensibly as a slave by an arab trader. mwanga heard that there was a white man in the arab merchant's caravan, but when the merchant told him that it was a slave he had bought, and exhibited the captive tied with the rest of the slaves, the king made no objection. he was, no doubt, so greatly rejoiced to see the white man in captivity and disgrace that he did not wish to disturb him."[11]
[pg 394]
some of emin pasha's irregular troops.
"what is the nationality of emin?" queried fred; "and why is he sometimes called emin bey and sometimes emin pasha?"
ivory-eating squirrel, central africa.
"emin is his egyptian name," answered doctor bronson, "but the gentleman is of austrian birth and his real name is dr. schnitzler. he was an austrian physician at the turkish court at one time; afterwards he went to egypt, and in 1877 was appointed to the command of the equatorial province of egypt. he is about forty-two years old, tall and thin, very near-sighted, and a most accomplished linguist; he speaks german,[pg 395]
[pg 396] french, english, italian, arabic, turkish, and several african languages, is a great scientist and a prudent and careful commander of his people. at last accounts he had with him ten white egyptian officers, fifteen black non-commissioned officers, twenty coptish clerks, and three hundred egyptian soldiers with their families.
battle between native warriors and egyptian troops.
"the rank of bey in the turkish and egyptian service corresponds to that of colonel in our language, while pasha or pacha is the equivalent of general. since he was appointed to the command of the province emin has been promoted; he was then emin bey and is now emin pasha. it is the oriental custom to put the title after the name instead of before it; just as we might say smith general, or brown major."
native warrior in emin pasha's province.
"and can't emin pasha get away from where he is?" one of the youths asked.
"certainly, if he came with a small body of picked men and with reliable guides," was the reply. "but he could not get away with all his people and their families, and he absolutely refuses to desert them. they have been faithful to him, and he believes in rewarding fidelity with fidelity.
"he cannot come away through uganda," doctor bronson explained, "because the new king, mwanga, would not let him pass. he cannot go through unyoro because the king of that country is leagued with mwanga to keep out all white men, and kill them if they persist in entering his territory. there is a route through masai land, north of lake victoria, but it would be unsafe, as the king of uganda would be sure to hear of an expedition there and take measures to stop it. he might travel westward to the congo or one of its tributaries without much danger of interference, but he has no provisions and too little ammunition to defend himself and his people in case of hostility."
[pg 397]
"and i suppose mr. stanley is going to carry ammunition, trade goods, and money to emin pasha," said one of the young auditors.
"he has been engaged for that object," replied the doctor. "the cost of the expedition is to be paid partly by the egyptian government and partly by liberal gentlemen in great britain. mr. william mackinnon, a wealthy scotchman, has contributed one hundred thousand dollars for the enterprise, and other gentlemen have given freely to the good work.
the king of unyoro and his great chiefs.
"i call it good work," he continued, "because, according to all accounts, emin pasha has created a model government in the middle of africa, and greatly benefited the people under his charge. he has suppressed slavery and slave-trading, taught many useful employments to the natives, developed agriculture, the raising of cattle and other industries, and almost entirely put an end to crime of all sorts. the province is divided into districts, each of which has a military station in its centre, where the taxes in grain and cattle are paid. lado, the capital, is a well-built town, with a fortification for its defence, and the sanitary arrangements[pg 398] are of the most perfect character. everything at lado is under the personal supervision of emin pasha, and his subjects have learned to love him for the good he has done them.
"if emin pasha should be forced to flee or surrender, the country would speedily fall into its old ways, and all the horrors of the slave-trade would be renewed; consequently mr. stanley's mission is in the nature of a missionary enterprise, and we should all hope for its complete success. we shall know more about it after we have been awhile in england, as mr. stanley is naturally reticent about his plans, and, in fact, cannot make them very definitely until he arrives there. so we will drop the subject for the present, and, if there is no further business, it will be well for us to adjourn."
in accordance with this suggestion, the society made its final adjournment, but we may be sure that its sessions will long be remembered by those who attended them.
on the arrival of the steamer at southampton our friends said good-bye to mr. stanley, with many wishes for his success in his new journey to the dark continent. in response to their friendly words mr. stanley made cordial expression of his pleasure at having made their acquaintance, which he hoped to renew about a year later, if all should go well with him and his expedition.
mr. stanley remained about three weeks in england, busily occupied with preparations for his journey, and making a hasty trip to brussels to confer with king leopold, who placed the congo fleet and the property of the congo state generally at the explorer's disposal. the supplies, ammunition, and other material were shipped from england direct to the congo, and mr. stanley proceeded to zanzibar, by way of cairo, to engage men for the expedition. what he accomplished there is best told in the following letter from his pen:
native war dance.
"on arriving at zanzibar i found our agent, mr. mackenzie, had managed everything so well, with the good offices of mr. holmwood, the acting consul-general, that the expedition was almost ready for embarkation. the steamer madura, of the british india steam navigation company, was in the harbor, provisioned and watered for the voyage. the goods for barter and transport animals were on board. there were a few things to be done, however; such as arranging with the famous tippu-tib about our line of conduct towards one another. tippu-tib is a much greater man to-day than he was in the year 1877, when he escorted my caravan, preliminary to our voyage down the congo. he has invested his hard-earned fortune in guns and powder. adventurous arabs have flocked to his standard until he is now an uncrowned king of the region between stanley falls and tanganika lake, commanding many thousands of men inured to fighting and[pg 399]
[pg 400] wild equatorial life. if i discovered hostile intentions in him my idea was to give him a wide berth, for the ammunition i had to convoy to emin pasha, if captured and employed by him, would endanger the existence of the infant state of the congo, and imperil all our hopes. between tippu-tib and mwanga, king of uganda, there was only a choice of the frying-pan and the fire. it was with due caution that i sounded tippu-tib on the first day of my arrival, and i found him fully prepared for any eventuality, to fight or to be employed. i chose the latter, and we proceeded to business. you will please understand that his aid was not required to enable me to reach emin pasha, or to show the road to wadelay, or lake albert, which is a region he knows nothing about. there are four roads available from the congo; two of them were in tippu-tib's power to close, the remaining two were clear of his influence. but dr. junker informed me at our cairo interview that emin pasha had about seventy-five tons of ivory with him. so much ivory would amount to ￡60,000, at eight shillings per pound. the subscription of egypt to the emin pasha relief fund is large for her present state of depressed finances. in this ivory we have a possible means of recouping the sum paid out of her treasury, with a large sum left towards defraying expenses, and perhaps leaving a handsome balance. why not attempt the carriage of this ivory to the congo? accordingly i wished to engage tippu-tib and his people to assist me in conveying this ivory. after a good deal of bargaining i entered into a contract with him, by which he agreed to supply six hundred carriers at ￡6 per loaded head each round trip, from stanley falls to lake albert and back. thus, if each carrier carries seventy pounds weight of ivory, one round trip will bring to the fund ￡13,200 net at stanley falls.
breed of cattle in emin pasha's province.
"on the conclusion of this contract, which was entered into in the presence of the british consul-general, i broached another subject with tippu-tib in the name of his majesty, king leopold. stanley falls station was established by me in[pg 401]
[pg 402] december, 1883. various europeans have since commanded this station, and lieutenant wester, of the swedish army, had succeeded in making it a well-ordered and presentable station. captain deane, his successor, however, quarrelled with the arabs, and at his forced departure from the scene set fire to the station and blew up the krupps. the object for which the station was established was the prevention of the arabs from pursuing their devastating career below the falls—not so much by force as by tact, or, rather, the happy combination of both. by the retreat of the officers of the state from stanley falls the flood-gates were opened and the arabs pressed down the river. tippu-tib being, of course, the guiding-spirit of the arabs west of tanganika lake, it was advisable to see how far his aid might be secured to check this stream of arabs from destroying the country. after the interchange of messages by cable with brussels, on the second day of my stay at zanzibar, i signed an engagement with tippu-tib by which he was appointed governor of stanley falls, at a regular salary, paid monthly at zanzibar to the british consul-general's hands. his duties will be principally to defend stanley falls in the name of the state against all arabs and natives. the flag of the station will be that of the state. at all hazards he is to defeat and capture[pg 403]
[pg 404] all persons raiding the territory for slaves, and to disperse all bodies of men who may be justly suspected of violent designs. he is to abstain from all slave-traffic below the falls himself, and to prevent all in his command from trading in slaves. in order to insure a faithful performance of his engagements with the state, a european officer is to be appointed resident at the falls. a breach of any article in the contract being reported, the salary is to cease.
lado, capital of egyptian equatorial province.
"meantime, while i was engaged in these negotiations, mr. mackenzie had paid four months' advance wages to six hundred and twenty men and boys enlisted in the relief expedition, and as fast as each batch of fifty men was satisfactorily paid, a barge was hauled alongside, the men were duly embarked, and a steam-launch towed the barge to the transport. by three p.m. all hands were on board, and the steamer moved off to a more distant anchorage. by midnight tippu-tib and his people and every person connected with the expedition were on board, and at day-break next day, the 25th of february, the anchor was lifted, and we steamed away towards the cape of good hope.
schooli warrior, egyptian equatorial province.
"so far there has not been a hitch in any arrangement. difficulties have been smoothed as if by magic. everybody has shown the utmost sympathy and been prompt with the assistance required. the officers of the expedition were kept fully employed from morning to evening at laborious tasks connected with the repacking of the ammunition for emin pasha's force. letters were also sent by myself to emin pasha, acquainting him with our mission and the probable time of our arrival at lake albert, with directions as to the locality we should aim for. tippu-tib likewise sent couriers to stanley falls to acquaint his people of his departure by sea round the cape to the congo, with orders to concentrate in readiness at the falls."
[pg 405]
[pg 406]
fortified village near lado.
before leaving cairo, where he had an interview with dr. junker, mr. stanley wrote to the chairman of the relief committee in london, in which he explained the objects of the expedition as follows:
ismaen abou hatab, trusted officer of emin pasha.
"the expedition is non-military—that is to say, its purpose is not to fight, destroy, or waste; its purpose is to save, to relieve distress, and to carry comfort. emin pasha may be a good man, a brave officer, and a gallant fellow, deserving of a strong effort of relief; but i decline to believe, and i have not been able to gather from any one in england an impression that his life, or the lives of the few hundreds under him, would overbalance the lives of thousands of natives, and the devastation of immense tracts of country which an expedition strictly military would naturally cause. the expedition is a mere powerful caravan, armed with rifles for the purpose of insuring the safe conduct of the ammunition to emin pasha, and for the more certain protection of this people during the retreat home. but it also has means of purchasing the friendship of tribes and chiefs, of buying food, and paying its way liberally."
village in the valley of the bengo.
the point where he expects to meet emin pasha is purposely kept secret, but it will probably be at the southern end of lake albert, unless king mwanga threatens trouble, in which case the march may be directed to wadelay, on the white nile. stanley's fighting force, in case he is opposed by hostile natives, will consist of sixty soudanese soldiers, in addition to the zanzibaris, somalis, and other east and west coast natives, enlisted in his expedition. when he went to cairo he specially requested that a small force of soudanese should be placed at his command. volunteers were called for, and out of a large number who offered their services sixty picked men were chosen. these men are fine specimens of the soldiers who composed the larger part of the force with which egypt held her central african provinces. it was of such soldiers as these that emin pasha wrote these words last year:
"deprived of the most necessary things, for a long time without any pay, my men fought valiantly, and when at last hunger weakened them, when, after nineteen days of incredible privations and sufferings, their strength was exhausted, and when the last torn leather of the last boot had been eaten, then they cut a way through the midst of their enemies and succeeded in saving themselves. if ever i had any doubts of the negro, the history of the siege of amadi would have proved to me that the black race is in valor and courage inferior to no other, while in devotion and self-denial it is superior to many. without any orders from capable officers, these men performed miracles, and it will be very difficult for the egyptian government worthily to show its gratitude to my soldiers and officers."
a traveller's caravan near wadelay.
on the long march between stanley falls and lake albert, or wadelay, these soldiers will perform guard and police duty for the expedition, and will defend it if attacked. stanley also carries a machine-gun of the maxim pattern, which was specially constructed so as to be carried[pg 407]
[pg 408] by porters. if the explorer has occasion to show the natives that the gun will fire six hundred shots a minute, and that it will kill a hippopotamus or sink a canoe at a distance of a mile, he thinks the weapon will acquire a prestige which will make the savage glad to renounce any idea of attempting to impede his party with their poor spears and arrows. lieutenant stairns, an officer in the engineer corps of the british army, who accompanies stanley, has special charge of the maxim gun.
a dyoor, subject of emin pasha.
two members of stanley's party, who have been among king leopold's agents on the congo, went directly from liverpool to the congo for the purpose of hiring about three hundred porters to assist in transporting the goods around the livingstone cataract to stanley pool, where the upper congo fleet was ordered to be in readiness to receive the expedition. mr. stanley estimates that his progress on the land march will not be greater than six to ten miles a day.
the expedition reached banana point, at the mouth of the congo, on the 18th of march, and on the same day re-embarked on vessels belonging to the international association, which were awaiting the expedition. on the 19th the expedition anchored at boma, the seat of the general administration of the congo free state, and a cordial reception was given the whole body. mr. stanley was confident of the success of his enterprise, and hoped that by june or july he would be able to render effectual assistance to emin pasha. the congo association had arranged to victual the expedition from matada to leopoldville. the expedition left boma on march 21, arrived at matada on the 22d, and there disembarked, the river being unnavigable thence to leopoldville, on account of the livingstone falls. the expedition was to proceed on foot for eighteen days along the falls to leopoldville, where mr. stanley was to be met by four steamers belonging to the congo state. the english and french mission stations of the upper congo had also been requested to place their steamers at his service.
[pg 409]
mr. stanley's plans for a railway around the livingstone falls, on the lower congo, have aroused the portuguese, who fear the effects of the new line of commerce. they have begun the construction of a railway from san paulo de loanda up the valley of the bengo river to ambaca, a distance of about two hundred and fifty miles. english and american engineers are in charge of the work, and they hope to complete the line in about three years. the railway can hardly be called a rival of mr. stanley's, as it is a long way south of the congo, and its principal uses will be to preserve the local trade which centres at ambaca, and prevent its diversion to the stations of the congo state. the surveys for the congo railway are in progress while these pages are in the printer's hands.
[pg 410]
chief of coast tribe in portuguese territory.
