Emin Pasha’s Indecision — Much Time Wasted — Stanley Grows Impatient — Jephson’s Report — Stanley Demands Positive Action, and Threatens to March Homeward on February 13th — Receives Emin’s Reply, Accepting the Escort, on the Day he had Proposed to Begin his Return March — Stanley Furnishes Carriers to Help him Up with his Luggage — Stanley Greatly Hindered by the Suspicions of the Natives — Convalescent from his Recent Severe Illness, Stanley leaves Kavalli with his United Expedition, for the Indian Ocean, April 12th — Letter of Lieutenant W. G. Stairs — Reaches Ursulala — Stanley’s Letter to Sir Francis de Winston — Expeditions Fitted Out and Forwarded to the Interior to Meet Stanley — Stanley reaches Msuwah November 29th — Meets the “Herald” Commissioner — Reaches Mbiki, December 1st — Kigiro, December 3d — Bagamoyo, December 4th — Grand Reception Accorded Stanley at Bagamoyo — Enter Zanzibar December 5th — Sad Accident Befalls Emin Pasha — Seriously, if not Fatally, Injured — The End of a Remarkable and Extraordinary Expedition — The Closing Words of Stanley’s Story.
Emin Pasha’s Indecision — Much Time Wasted — Stanley Grows Impatient — Jephson’s Report — Stanley Demands Positive Action, and Threatens to March Homeward on February 13th — Receives Emin’s Reply, Accepting the Escort, on the Day he had Proposed to Begin his Return March — Stanley Furnishes Carriers to Help him Up with his Luggage — Stanley Greatly Hindered by the Suspicions of the Natives — Convalescent from his Recent Severe Illness, Stanley leaves Kavalli with his United Expedition, for the Indian Ocean, April 12th — Letter of Lieutenant W. G. Stairs — Reaches Ursulala — Stanley’s Letter to Sir Francis de Winston — Expeditions Fitted Out and Forwarded to the Interior to Meet Stanley — Stanley reaches Msuwah November 29th — Meets the “Herald” Commissioner — Reaches Mbiki, December 1st — Kigiro, December 3d — Bagamoyo, December 4th — Grand Reception Accorded Stanley at Bagamoyo — Enter Zanzibar December 5th — Sad Accident Befalls Emin Pasha — Seriously, if not Fatally, Injured — The End of a Remarkable and Extraordinary Expedition — The Closing Words of Stanley’s Story.
In a previous chapter reference is made to the hesitancy shown by Emin Pasha, Casati, and followers, to accept the escort of Stanley out of the country, and the time that was wasted in considering the proper step to take. That our reader may more fully comprehend how the patience of Stanley was tried at this time, we will quote from his letter to Sir William McKinnon, under date of August, 1889. In referring to this matter, Stanleysays:—
“If you will bear in mind that August 17, 1888, after a march of six hundred miles to hunt up the rear column, I met only a miserable remnant of it, wreckedby the irresolution of its officers, neglect of their promises, and indifference to their written orders, you will readily understand why after another march of seven hundred miles I was a little put out when I discovered that, instead of performing their promise of conducting the garrison of Fort Bodo to Nyanza, Mr. Jephson and Emin Pasha had allowed themselves to be made prisoners on or about the very day they were expected by the garrison of Fort Bodo to reach them. It could not be pleasant reading to find that, instead of being able to relieve Emin Pasha, I was more than likely, by the tenor of these letters, to lose one of my own officers to add to the number of Europeans in that unlucky Equatorial province. However, a personal interview with Jephson was necessary in the first place to understand fairly or fully the state of affairs. February 6, 1889, Jephson arrived in the afternoon at our camp at Kavalli on a plateau. I was startled to hear Mr. Jephson in plain, undoubting words say, ‘Sentiment is Pasha’s worst enemy. No one keeps Emin Pasha back but Emin Pasha himself.’ This is a summary of what Jephson had learned during the nine months from May 25, 1888, to February 6, 1889. I gathered sufficient from Jephson’s verbal report to conclude that during the nine months neither Pasha, Signor Casati, nor any man in the province had arrived nearer any other conclusion than that which was told us ten months before this:
“The Pasha—‘If my people go, I go. If they stay, I stay.’
“Signor Casati—‘If the Governor goes, I go. If the Governor stays, I stay.’
“The Faithful—‘If the Pasha goes, we go. If the Pasha stays, we stay.’
“However, a diversion in our favor was created by the Mahdist’s invasion, and the dreadful slaughter they made of all they met inspired us with a hope that we could get a definite answer at last, though Mr. Jephson could only reply: ‘I really cannot tell you what Pasha means to do. He says he wishes to go away, but will not make a move. No one will move. It is impossible to say what any man will do. Perhaps another advance by the Mahdists would send them all pell-mell towards Utoagin. They are irresolute, and require several weeks’ rest to consider again.’”
In February, however, Stanley despatched a messenger with orders to Lieutenant Stairs to hasten with his column to Kavalli, with a view to concentrate the expedition ready for any contingency. Couriers were also dispatched to Pasha telling him of these movements and intentions, and asking him to point out how they could best aid him—whether it would be best for them to remain at Kavalli, or whether they should advance into the province and assist him at Mswa or Tangura Island, where Jephson had left him. Stanley suggested the simplest plan for him would be to seize the steamer and employ her in the transport of refugees, who he heard were collected in numbers at Tangura, to his (Stanley’s) old camp on the Nyanza; or that, failing with the steamer, he should march overland from Tangura to Mswa, and send a canoe to inform him that he had done so, when, a few days after, he (Stanley) could be at Mswa with two hundred and fifty rifles to escort them to Kavalli. But Stanley demanded somethingpositive, otherwise it would be his duty to destroy the ammunition and march homeward on the 13th of February.
TIPPU-TIB.
TIPPU-TIB.
The following letter, by a courier, was received by Stanley from Emin Pasha, much to his astonishment, on the very day he had proposed to begin the homeward march, Emin being then actually at anchor just below hiscamp:—
Camp, February 13, 1889.Henry M. Stanley, Commanding Relief Expedition.Sir:—In answer to your letter of the 7th inst., for which I beg to tender my best thanks, I have the honor to inform you that yesterday at three I arrived here with my two steamers carrying the first lot of people desirous to leave this country under your escort. As soon as I have arranged for cover of my people, steamships have to start for Mswa station to bring on another lot of people awaiting transportation. With me there are some twelve officers anxious to see you and only forty soldiers. They have come under my orders to request you to give them some time to bring their brothers, at least such as are willing to leave, from Wadelai, and I promised them to do my best to assist them. Things having to some extent now changed, you will be able to make them undergo whatever conditions you see fit to impose upon them. To arrange these matters I shall start from here with officers for your camp, and if you send carriers I could avail me of some of them. I hope sincerely that the great difficulties you have had to undergo and the great sacrifices made by your expedition to assist us may be rewarded by full success in bringing out my people. The wave of insanity which overran the country has subsided, and of such people as are now coming with me we may be sure. Sig. Casati requests me to give his best thanks for your kind remembrance of him. Permit me to express to you once more my cordial thanks for whatever you have done for us until now, and believe me to be, yours, faithfully,DR. EMIN.
Camp, February 13, 1889.
Henry M. Stanley, Commanding Relief Expedition.
Sir:—In answer to your letter of the 7th inst., for which I beg to tender my best thanks, I have the honor to inform you that yesterday at three I arrived here with my two steamers carrying the first lot of people desirous to leave this country under your escort. As soon as I have arranged for cover of my people, steamships have to start for Mswa station to bring on another lot of people awaiting transportation. With me there are some twelve officers anxious to see you and only forty soldiers. They have come under my orders to request you to give them some time to bring their brothers, at least such as are willing to leave, from Wadelai, and I promised them to do my best to assist them. Things having to some extent now changed, you will be able to make them undergo whatever conditions you see fit to impose upon them. To arrange these matters I shall start from here with officers for your camp, and if you send carriers I could avail me of some of them. I hope sincerely that the great difficulties you have had to undergo and the great sacrifices made by your expedition to assist us may be rewarded by full success in bringing out my people. The wave of insanity which overran the country has subsided, and of such people as are now coming with me we may be sure. Sig. Casati requests me to give his best thanks for your kind remembrance of him. Permit me to express to you once more my cordial thanks for whatever you have done for us until now, and believe me to be, yours, faithfully,
DR. EMIN.
During the interval between Jephson’s arrival and the receipt of this letter Jephson had written pretty full reports of all that he had heard from Pasha, Signor Casati, and the Egyptian soldiers, of the principal events that had transpired within the last few years in the Equatorial province. In Jephson’s report appear such sentences as the following: “And this leads me to say a few words concerning the position of affairs inthis country. When I entered it, April 21, 1888, the first battalion of about seven hundred rifles had been long in rebellion against Pasha’s authority, and had twice attempted to make him prisoner. The second battalion of about six hundred and fifty rifles, though professedly loyal, was insubordinate and almost unmanageable. Pasha possessed only a semblance, a mere rag of authority, and if he required anything of importance to be done he could no longer order, he was obliged to beg his officers to do it. Now, when we were at Nzabe, in May, 1888, though Pasha hinted things were a little difficult in his country, he never revealed to us the true state of things, which was actually desperate, and we had not the slightest idea that any mutiny or discontent was likely to arise among his people. We thought, as most people in Europe and Egypt had been taught to believe by the Pasha’s own letters and Juncker’s later representations, that all his difficulties arose from events outside his country, whereas in point of fact his danger arose from internal dissensions. Thus we were led to place our trust in people who were utterly unworthy of our confidence or help, and who, instead of being grateful to us for wishing to help them, have from the first conspired how to plunder the expedition and turn us adrift; and had the mutineers in their highly-excited state been able to prove one single case of injustice, cruelty, or neglect of his people against Pasha he would most assuredly have lost his life in this rebellion.”
Jephson further says, in summing up hisreport:—
“As to Pasha’s wish to leave the country, I can say decidedly he is most anxious to go out with us; butunder what conditions he will consent to come I can hardly understand. I do not think he knows himself. His ideas seem to me to vary much on the subject. To-day he is ready to start up and go; to-morrow some new idea holds him back. I have had many conversations with him about it, but have never been able to get his unchanging opinion on the subject. After this rebellion I remarked to him: ‘I presume now that your people have deposed you, and put you aside, you do not consider that you have any longer any responsibility or obligations concerning them,’ and he answered: ‘Had they not deserted me I should have felt bound to stand by them and help them in any way I could, but now I consider I am absolutely free to think only of my own personal safety and welfare; and if I get a chance I shall go out regardless of everything.’ And yet only a few days before I left him he said to me: ‘I know I am not in any way responsible for these people, but I cannot bear to go out myself first and leave anyone here behind me who is desirous of quitting the country. It is mere sentiment, I know, and perhaps a sentiment you will not sympathize with, but my enemies at Wadelai would point at me and say to the people, “You see he has deserted you.”’ These are merely two examples of what passed between us on the subject of his going out with us, but I could quote numbers of things he has said all equally contradictory. Being somewhat impatient after one of these unsatisfactory conversations, I said: ‘If ever the expedition does reach any place near you I shall advise Mr. Stanley to arrest you and carry you off, whether you will or not,’ to which he replied: ‘Well, I shall do nothing toprevent you doing that.’ It seems to me that if we are to have him we must save him from himself. Before closing my report I must bear witness to the fact that, in my frequent conversations with all sorts and conditions of the Pasha’s people, I heard with hardly any exception only praise of his justice and generosity to his people. But I have heard it suggested that he did not hold his people with a sufficiently firm hand.”
In answer to Emin’s request, Stanley supplied him with carriers and successfully aided him in bringing up his luggage and that of his European companions.
Stanley in referring to the dangers which had menaced him, and the many thrilling incidents that had crowded themselves, one upon another, to this point of time, to say nothing of the innumerable perplexities, says:—“There is virtue you know even in striving unyieldingly, in hardening the nerves, and facing these overclinging mischances without paying too much heed to the reputed danger. One is assisted much by knowing that there are no other coups, and the danger somehow, nine times out of ten, diminishes. The rebels of Emin Pasha’s government relied on their craft and on the wiles of the Heathen Chinee, and it is rather amusing to look back and note how punishment has fallen upon them. Was it Providence or luck? Let those who love to analyze such matters reflect. Traitors without the camp and traitors within were watching, and the most active conspirator was discovered, tried, and hanged. The traitors without fell afoul of one another and ruined themselves. If not luck, then it is surely Providence in answer to good men’s prayers. Far away our own people, tempted byextreme wretchedness and misery, sold our rifles and ammunition to our natural enemies, the Manyema, the slave-traders’ true friends, without the least grace in either bodies or souls. What happy influence was it that restrained me from destroying all those concerned in it? Each time I read the story of Captain Nelson’s sufferings I feel vexed at my forbearance, and yet again I feel thankful, for a higher power than man’s severely afflicted the cold-blooded murderers by causing them to feed upon one another a few weeks after the rescue and relief of Nelson and Parkes. The memory of those days at times hardens and again unmans me. With the rescue of Pasha, poor old Casati, and those who preferred Egypt’s fleshpots to the coarse plenty of the province near Nyanza, we returned, and while we were patiently waiting the doom of the rebels was consummated.
“Since that time of anxiety and unhappy outlook I have been at the point of death from a dreadful illness. The strain had been too much, and for twenty-eight days I lay helpless, tended by the kindly and skillful hands of Surgeon Parkes. Then little by little I gathered strength, and ordered the march for home. Discovery after discovery in that wonderful region was made. Snowy ranges of the Ruevenzori (Cloud King or Rain-Creator), the Semliki River, the Albert Edward Nyanza, the plains of Noongora, the salt lakes of Kative, the new peoples Wakonju, great mountain dwellers of a rich forest region; the Awamba, the fine-featured Wazonira, the Wanyoro bandits, then the Lake Albert Edward tribes and the shepherd races of the Eastern Uplands, then the Wanyankori, besidesthe Wanyaruwamba and the Wazinya, until at last we came to a church whose cross dominated a Christian settlement, and we knew that we had reached the outskirts of blessed Civilization. We have every reason to be grateful, and may that feeling be ever kept within me. Our promises as volunteers have been performed as well as though we had been specially commissioned by the Government.
“We have been all volunteers, each devoting his several gifts, abilities, and energies to win a successful issue for the enterprise. If there has been anything that sometimes clouded our thoughts it has been that we were compelled by the state of Emin Pasha and his own people to cause anxieties to our friends by serious delay. At every opportunity I have endeavored to lessen these by despatching full accounts of our progress to the committee, that through them all interested might be acquainted with what we were doing. Some of my officers also have been troubled in thought that their Government might not overlook their having overstayed their leave; but the truth is, the wealth of the British treasury could not have hastened our march without making ourselves liable to impeachment for breach of faith, and the officers were as much involved as myself in doing the thing honorably and well. I hear there is great trouble, war, etc., between the Germans and Arabs of Zanzibar. What influence this may have on our fortune I do not know, but we trust nothing to interrupt our march to the sea, which will be begun in a few days.”
Stanley had been greatly hindered also by the suspicions of the natives. “It has been current talk inthe provinces,” he says, “that we were only a party of conspirators and adventurers; that the letters of the Khedive and Nubar Pasha were forgeries concocted by the vile Christians, Stanley and Casati, assisted by the Mohammedan, Emin Pasha.”
It had also been generally doubted, after Stanley’s expedition had started, whether Emin Pasha might, after all, be in want of aid. On September 28th, 1887, this doubt was fully confirmed by a letter from him, dated April 17th of the same year, which represented him as saying: “I have passed twelve years here, and have succeeded in re-occupying nearly every station in the country which General Gordon entrusted to me. I have won the confidence of the people, sowing the seed of a splendid future civilization. It is out of the question to ask me to leave. All I want England to do is to make a free tradeway to the coast.” The various references to Emin in the recent letters of Stanley clearly show that the German was far from ready at first to accept Stanley’s escort to the east coast of Africa. And the letter of Emin Pasha to the President of the Emin Relief Committee, thanking the subscribers to the fund and the members of the fund for their generous help, which “saved a handful of forlorn ones from destruction,” conclusively establishes the fact that the acceptance of Stanley’s escort was but a compulsory matter at the last moment.
On the 12th of April, Stanley having somewhat recovered from his severe illness, and preparations having been fully completed for the march to the Indian Ocean, the united expedition left Kavalli on the Albert Nyanza. Of the experiences of the expeditionon the homeward march, Lieutenant W. G. Stairs, in a letter under date Usambiro Mission Station, Victoria Nyanza, August 30th, 1889, says:
“I wrote you last from Yambuya. Our starvation periods, fighting, fevers and other trials would occupy pages. Directly on leaving Yambuya some had a bad fever. Then we got into countries without food, and lost men at a terrible rate. The natives shot a great many. When, on December 16th, 1887, we reached Albert Nyanza we had one hundred and seventy out of four hundred and fourteen men that left Yambuya. We could not then connect with Emin, and had to return one hundred and twenty miles west of Albert Nyanza. Here we built a strong fort, and I started back to a place two hundred and twenty-eight miles down the river to bring up our sick.
“Meantime Stanley and two of our officers went east to the lake and connected with the Pasha. Then our return march to Yambuya commenced. April 12th the united expedition left Kavallis on the Albert for the Indian Ocean. Our numbers were then one thousand one hundred and seventy-five. Now, on reaching here, Ursalala, we have about six hundred and seventy.
“We have made many important geographical discoveries—one of the most important being Mount Ruevenzori, which for all these three thousand years has been undiscovered. The very source of the Nile is from its snow-capped peaks. It is a wonderful sight. I went up ten thousand seven hundred feet, but was stopped by ravines two thousand feet deep.
“Anchori and the Albert Nyanza are new places to Europeans—at least beyond the mere names. Herein Karagwe we found the Urigi to be a large lake instead of the petty thing laid down on the maps.
“After a hard march of four months we reached here (Ursalala) and found Mr. McKay and Mr. Dreaks of the Church Missionary Society. We have been here three days, and from these kind-hearted people have received a most hearty welcome, and rejoiced again in a cup of tea, with milk and biscuit. We fortunately found that cloth and beads for us had come up from the coast enough to buy our way out to the coast. Everything has been stopped on its way inland by the Arabs, making affairs assume a very critical aspect for missionaries and attached whites living inland.
“From here to the coast—should we have open roads—is a four and a half months’ march for the caravan. If the Arabs, however, oppose our progress no one can say how long it will take.
“Of our trials and sufferings I have said very little, but so far our expedition has been an immense success, in spite of sneers seen in some of the English papers. I hope we will emerge triumphantly to the coast. The Pasha we have; also Casati, the Italian, besides Egyptian and Turkish officers, soldiers, men, women and children and convicts.
“We have had no news from the coast here for over one and a half years, and we are all in uncertainty. If pluck and determination can carry us through, we shall reach the coast.
“One of our greatest dangers has been from starvation in the immense forest between the Congo and the Albert Nyanza, which was thought to be an open, grassy country. In this forest we lost out of six hundredZanzibaris some three hundred and sixty; also sixteen Somali boys and about forty Nubian soldiers. This wasen routeto the Pasha. The loss of life since leaving the Albert Nyanza has been general—some two hundred. In this forest for three weeks we lived on roots and fungi, and though we hunted and fished, not a thing could we bring in. Of course our poor men died like dogs, and we whites were just about pegged out when we reached food.”
Under the date of Ursalala, August 31, Stanley writes Sir Francis de Winston a long letter, wherein he objects very strongly to the tone of a batch of newspaper cuttings he had received, which commented with an utter lack of common sense and a total disregard of accuracy upon his expedition. He dwells upon Emin’s indecision, which cost him a journey, otherwise unnecessary, of thirteen hundred miles for Barttelot.
He justifies the payment of a salary of £30 per month to Tippu-Tib as a means for averting a desolating war, and declares that if both parties are honest in the maintenance of their agreements peace may continue for an indefinite period.
He rebukes those persons in England who had lost faith in his steadfastness of purpose to such a degree as to give credit to rumors that he was marching in the direction of Khartoum.
He dwells at much length upon the case of Barttelot, and removes the impression produced by previous letters reflecting upon the Major’s conduct. He says that to extricate himself from his dilemma Barttelot only needed qualities that will not be gained save by long experience in Africa, and eulogizes his courageand high qualities. He knew the Major was a man of little forbearance, and had intended to keep him with himself, but necessity compelled the change that caused him to leave him behind. Barttelot was ignorant of the language of the people, and his interpreter may have been false, and occasioned the coolness between the men and the Major which was never overcome, and led to his death.
Stanley recites in detail the instructions given to Barttelot, and finally denies with much emphasis the alleged Congo atrocities of the Manyema, the cannibalism, and the story of photographing women during execution. During the whole expedition he executed only four men.
As Stanley and Emin neared the confines of the colonized territory on the east coast great interest was manifested as to the time and place at which they would emerge from their long and wilderness enshrouded journey. Considerable difference of opinion was held as to their exact whereabouts, the course they were taking, and the point on the coast at which they would appear. When the question was still one of extreme uncertainty the “Herald” made the following prediction, which the information now received shows has been fulfilled:
“In our opinion Stanley and his gallant comrade, Emin Pasha, himself a German, will come home by the shortest practicable route. This, as a glance at the map will show, is through German territory, where Captain Wissmann, representing the German Government, and the special correspondent of the ‘Herald’ await them with sympathy, succor and congratulations upon their brilliant success.
“Within the last few months several expeditions, one of which was fitted out by the ‘Herald,’ have been sent toward the interior to meet Stanley. This was done not through great concern for his safety, but to extend to him a welcome, made substantial by generous quantities of tea, coffee, tobacco, spirits and food supplies, which it was believed would prove both needful and gratefully acceptable after the hardships and deprivations of his long journey.”
On the 29th of November, 1889, the expedition reached Msuwah, whence the “Herald” commissioner sent the following despatch:
Msuwah, November 29.—5 P. M.I have just met Henry M. Stanley, Emin Pasha, Casati, Lieutenant Stairs, Mr. Jephson, Dr. Parke, Nelson and Bonny, and five hundred and sixty men, women and children.I have found Stanley looking exceedingly hearty. He wears a Prussian cap, linen breeches and canvas shoes. I presented him with the American flag with which I was entrusted, and it is now flying from Mr. Stanley’s tent.The great explorer’s hair is quite white and his mustache is iron-gray.Emin Pasha is a slight, dark man. He wears spectacles. In a short conversation which I had with him he told me he did not wish for any honors for what he had done. He simply desired to be employed again in the Khedive’s service.I have given Captain Casati his letters. He looks well, but the hardships which he has undergone seem to have quite undermined his constitution.All the other Europeans are well. We shall all proceed toward the coast the day after to-morrow.Stanley, Emin and Casati were entertained at dinner last night in this camp by Baron Gravenreath. Speeches were made by the Baron and by Stanley. The Baron complimented Stanley, Emin and their companions on their march from Central Africa. Stanley responded, and praised German enterprise and civilizing abilities.
Msuwah, November 29.—5 P. M.
I have just met Henry M. Stanley, Emin Pasha, Casati, Lieutenant Stairs, Mr. Jephson, Dr. Parke, Nelson and Bonny, and five hundred and sixty men, women and children.
I have found Stanley looking exceedingly hearty. He wears a Prussian cap, linen breeches and canvas shoes. I presented him with the American flag with which I was entrusted, and it is now flying from Mr. Stanley’s tent.
The great explorer’s hair is quite white and his mustache is iron-gray.
Emin Pasha is a slight, dark man. He wears spectacles. In a short conversation which I had with him he told me he did not wish for any honors for what he had done. He simply desired to be employed again in the Khedive’s service.
I have given Captain Casati his letters. He looks well, but the hardships which he has undergone seem to have quite undermined his constitution.
All the other Europeans are well. We shall all proceed toward the coast the day after to-morrow.
Stanley, Emin and Casati were entertained at dinner last night in this camp by Baron Gravenreath. Speeches were made by the Baron and by Stanley. The Baron complimented Stanley, Emin and their companions on their march from Central Africa. Stanley responded, and praised German enterprise and civilizing abilities.
On the 1st of December the expedition reached Mbiki. The “Herald’s” despatch informed the world that its force had united with Stanley, and was then escorting him to Bagamoyo:
Mbiki, December 1.—Noon.Stanley’s expedition, accompanied by the force sent out by the “Herald,” arrived here safely to-day. All the Europeans connected with the caravan arewell with the exception of Stevens, the Commissioner of the New York Gift Enterprise, who has been struck down with fever, and lies in my tent very ill.Stanley is bringing with him two hundred and eighty-six of Emin Pasha’s people. Many of these persons are aged, decrepit or sick, and they are all being carried down to the coast by Stanley’s Zanzibar men.The troops and carriers in Stanley’s command elicit the unbounded admiration of every one. They are under the most perfect discipline, and when on the road march in that perfect order which could only be expected of a well-trained and well-provisioned army.Acting under the orders of Major Wissmann, Lieutenant Schmidt and a few soldiers are accompanying us to the coast. It is their duty to slightly precede the main body on the march, and to make all preparations for camping comfortably at the various places selected for nightly halts.Stanley and all his officers are loud in their praises of the kindly reception they met with at the hands of the Germans. A special caravan was sent up to Mpwapwa by Major Wissmann, bearing many of the comforts of life of which the gentlemen of the expedition stood sorely in need. I am assured that these things were most welcome.Although we are only four days from the coast, Stanley is still expecting to meet the caravan of provisions which should have been sent out in accordance with the directions which he gave four months ago.
Mbiki, December 1.—Noon.
Stanley’s expedition, accompanied by the force sent out by the “Herald,” arrived here safely to-day. All the Europeans connected with the caravan arewell with the exception of Stevens, the Commissioner of the New York Gift Enterprise, who has been struck down with fever, and lies in my tent very ill.
Stanley is bringing with him two hundred and eighty-six of Emin Pasha’s people. Many of these persons are aged, decrepit or sick, and they are all being carried down to the coast by Stanley’s Zanzibar men.
The troops and carriers in Stanley’s command elicit the unbounded admiration of every one. They are under the most perfect discipline, and when on the road march in that perfect order which could only be expected of a well-trained and well-provisioned army.
Acting under the orders of Major Wissmann, Lieutenant Schmidt and a few soldiers are accompanying us to the coast. It is their duty to slightly precede the main body on the march, and to make all preparations for camping comfortably at the various places selected for nightly halts.
Stanley and all his officers are loud in their praises of the kindly reception they met with at the hands of the Germans. A special caravan was sent up to Mpwapwa by Major Wissmann, bearing many of the comforts of life of which the gentlemen of the expedition stood sorely in need. I am assured that these things were most welcome.
Although we are only four days from the coast, Stanley is still expecting to meet the caravan of provisions which should have been sent out in accordance with the directions which he gave four months ago.
The next despatch, dated from Kigiro, December 3d, read:
We have a march of two hours to-morrow to the Kinghani River, where we will stop. As there is only one boat we shall be all day crossing the stream. We should reach Bagamoyo December 5. There a British man-of-war and one of Major Wissmann’s vessels will meet us and convey us to Zanzibar.The Egyptian Government has chartered a British India steamer to carry Emin and his people to Egypt. Emin brings with him two hundred and eighty-three officers, soldiers, civil servants, three women and children, but not a single tusk of ivory. It was all burnt or deposited with native chiefs.Stanley says he finds his reward in the accomplishment of his deeds. He has received the “Herald” caravan of provisions for his people.
We have a march of two hours to-morrow to the Kinghani River, where we will stop. As there is only one boat we shall be all day crossing the stream. We should reach Bagamoyo December 5. There a British man-of-war and one of Major Wissmann’s vessels will meet us and convey us to Zanzibar.
The Egyptian Government has chartered a British India steamer to carry Emin and his people to Egypt. Emin brings with him two hundred and eighty-three officers, soldiers, civil servants, three women and children, but not a single tusk of ivory. It was all burnt or deposited with native chiefs.
Stanley says he finds his reward in the accomplishment of his deeds. He has received the “Herald” caravan of provisions for his people.
Stanley reached Bagamoyo, at eleven o’clock on the morning of the 4th, Major Wissmann having provided horses for him and Emin at At-oni, the day before, on the opposite bank of the Kinghani River. The town of Bagamoyo was profusely decorated. Verdant arches were built across all the avenues and palm branches waved from every window. A salute of nine gunswas fired by Major Wissmann’s force and the same number by the German man-of-war. All the officers of the expedition were sumptuously entertained at a luncheon at Major Wissmann’s headquarters.
The Captain of theSperberon behalf of the German Emperor, formally welcomed first Stanley, then Emin, and congratulated them upon their return to civilization. All the vessels in the roadstead were dressed in bunting.
Many persons came from Zanzibar, among them being Mr. Nichol, who came on behalf of Sir William Mackinnon, President of the Emin Pasha Relief Committee; the British Consul, Mr. Churchill; Judge Cracknall of the British Court, and the German and Italian Consuls.
In the evening a banquet was held, and amid a flood of champagne the German Consul, General Steifensand, toasted the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Major Wissmann toasted Stanley, calling him his master in African exploration.
Stanley, in reply, said he thanked God he had performed his duty. He spoke with emotion of his soldiers whose bones were bleaching in the forest, and remarked that with him and those of his party work was always onward. He bore testimony to the Divine influence that had guided him in his work.
Then he said: “Emin is here, Casati is here, I am here, and all the young gentlemen who went with me are here,” and concluded by thanking Major Wissmann and the “Herald” for their kindness in sending him stores.
Emin Pasha toasted the German Emperor, andLieutenant Stairs returned thanks for Stanley’s officers. Captain Brackenbury, senior naval officer, toasted Major Wissmann. This toast was drunk with honors, the whole company joining in singing “For he’s a jolly good fellow!”
Stanley and his men went to Zanzibar on the day following by theSperber, which had been specially placed at his disposal by the German Emperor. Emin’s people were taken over by the British man-of-war.
This glorious and most welcome news was, however, destined to be broken in upon by the sad intelligence which so closely followed, that Emin had met with an accident. The Pasha, being nearsighted, had walked out of a window, fallen and fractured his skull, the report stated, and was lying in a most critical state at Bagamoyo. This report was subsequently modified, so far as the facts were concerned. Instead of falling out of a window he had misjudged the height of a balcony parapet, overbalanced himself, and fell a distance of twenty feet. When found his right eye was closed and blood was issuing from his ears. His body was also terribly bruised.
The report further stated that all the doctors had given him up except Stanley’s physician, Dr. Parke, who remained with him, and who said he thought he might save him. He was receiving every care and attention from Major Wissmann and his officers.
Later reports brought more encouraging words from the attending physician: that the results of the accident to the Pasha had not been so serious as was at first supposed, and that with careful nursing and quiet rest he might be moved in about ten days.
Thus has ended, what must be conceded by every intelligent mind, the most remarkable and extraordinary expedition that ever essayed to traverse the terrible wilds of this Dark Continent; and the story of Stanley, its brave leader, will take a place in history whose prominence future ages of marvellous deeds and heroic adventures can never overshadow. Stanley’s story, too, is fittingly closed by the grand and sublime words he uses in reviewing the work of his co-laborers as he reaches civilization once again; and we can give it no better ending than through the language of him, who said:
I gave as much good will to my duties as the strictest honor would compel. My faith that the purity of my motive deserved success was firm, but I have been conscious that the Issues of every effort were in other hands.Not one officer who was with me will forget the miseries he has endured; yet every one that started from his home, destined to march with the advance column and share its wonderful adventures, is here to-day, safe, sound and well.This is not due to me. Lieutenant Stairs was pierced with a poisoned arrow like others, but others died and he lives. The poisoned tip came out from under his heart eighteen months after he was pierced. Jephson was four months a prisoner, with guards with loaded rifles around him. That they did not murder him is not due to me.These officers have had to wade through as many as seventeen streams and broad expanses of mud and swamp in a day. They have endured a sun that scorched whatever it touched. A multitude of impediments have ruffled their tempers and harassed their hours.They have been maddened with the agonies of fierce fevers. They have lived for months in an atmosphere that medical authority declared to be deadly. They have faced dangers every day, and their diet has been all through what legal serfs would have declared to be infamous and abominable; and yet they live. This is not due to me any more than the courage with which they have borne all that was imposed upon them by their surroundings or the cheery energy which they bestowed on their work or the hopeful voices which rang in the ears of a deafening multitude of blacks and urged the poor souls on to their goal.The vulgar will call it luck; unbelievers will call it chance; but deep down in each heart remains the feeling—that of verity. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in common philosophy.I must be brief. Numbers of scenes crowd the memory. Could one but sum them into a picture it would have great interest. The uncomplaining heroismof our dark followers, the brave manhood latent in such uncouth disguise, the tenderness we have seen issuing from nameless entities, the great love animating the ignoble, the sacrifice made by the unfortunate for one more unfortunate, the reverence we have noted in barbarians, who, even as ourselves, were inspired with nobleness and incentives to duty—of all these we could speak if we would, but I leave that to the “Herald” correspondent, who, if he has eyes to see, will see much for himself, and who with his gifts of composition may present a very taking outline of what has been done and is now near ending, thanks be to God forever and ever.Yours faithfully,HENRY M. STANLEY.
I gave as much good will to my duties as the strictest honor would compel. My faith that the purity of my motive deserved success was firm, but I have been conscious that the Issues of every effort were in other hands.
Not one officer who was with me will forget the miseries he has endured; yet every one that started from his home, destined to march with the advance column and share its wonderful adventures, is here to-day, safe, sound and well.
This is not due to me. Lieutenant Stairs was pierced with a poisoned arrow like others, but others died and he lives. The poisoned tip came out from under his heart eighteen months after he was pierced. Jephson was four months a prisoner, with guards with loaded rifles around him. That they did not murder him is not due to me.
These officers have had to wade through as many as seventeen streams and broad expanses of mud and swamp in a day. They have endured a sun that scorched whatever it touched. A multitude of impediments have ruffled their tempers and harassed their hours.
They have been maddened with the agonies of fierce fevers. They have lived for months in an atmosphere that medical authority declared to be deadly. They have faced dangers every day, and their diet has been all through what legal serfs would have declared to be infamous and abominable; and yet they live. This is not due to me any more than the courage with which they have borne all that was imposed upon them by their surroundings or the cheery energy which they bestowed on their work or the hopeful voices which rang in the ears of a deafening multitude of blacks and urged the poor souls on to their goal.
The vulgar will call it luck; unbelievers will call it chance; but deep down in each heart remains the feeling—that of verity. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in common philosophy.
I must be brief. Numbers of scenes crowd the memory. Could one but sum them into a picture it would have great interest. The uncomplaining heroismof our dark followers, the brave manhood latent in such uncouth disguise, the tenderness we have seen issuing from nameless entities, the great love animating the ignoble, the sacrifice made by the unfortunate for one more unfortunate, the reverence we have noted in barbarians, who, even as ourselves, were inspired with nobleness and incentives to duty—of all these we could speak if we would, but I leave that to the “Herald” correspondent, who, if he has eyes to see, will see much for himself, and who with his gifts of composition may present a very taking outline of what has been done and is now near ending, thanks be to God forever and ever.
Yours faithfully,HENRY M. STANLEY.
Wilderness
The Queen of England, under date of December 12th, cabled Mr. Stanley at Zanzibar:
My thoughts are with you and your brave followers, whose hardships and dangers are at an end. I again congratulate you all, including the Zanzibaris, who displayed such devotion and fortitude during your marvellous expedition. I trust Emin Pasha is making favorable progress.
My thoughts are with you and your brave followers, whose hardships and dangers are at an end. I again congratulate you all, including the Zanzibaris, who displayed such devotion and fortitude during your marvellous expedition. I trust Emin Pasha is making favorable progress.
The Emperor of Germany also cabled:
Thanks to your perseverance and inflexible courage, you have now, after repeatedly crossing the Dark Continent, overcome a new and long succession of exceeding perils and almost unendurable hardships. That after surmounting those your return journey should lead you through lands covered by my flag affords me great satisfaction, and I welcome you heartily to civilization and security.
Thanks to your perseverance and inflexible courage, you have now, after repeatedly crossing the Dark Continent, overcome a new and long succession of exceeding perils and almost unendurable hardships. That after surmounting those your return journey should lead you through lands covered by my flag affords me great satisfaction, and I welcome you heartily to civilization and security.
To which Mr. Stanley sent the following reply:
Imperator et Rex: My expedition has now reached its end. I have had the honor to be hospitably entertained by Major Wissmann and other of your Majesty’s officers under him. Since arriving from Mpwapwa, our travels have come to a successful conclusion. We have been taken across from Bagamoyo to Zanzibar by your Majesty’s ships, Sperber and Schwalbe, and all honors coupled with great affability have been accorded us. I gratefully remember the hospitality and princely affability extended to me at Potsdam, and am profoundly impressed with your Majesty’s condescension, kindness and gracious welcome. With a full and sincere heart I exclaim, “Long live the noble Emperor William!”
Imperator et Rex: My expedition has now reached its end. I have had the honor to be hospitably entertained by Major Wissmann and other of your Majesty’s officers under him. Since arriving from Mpwapwa, our travels have come to a successful conclusion. We have been taken across from Bagamoyo to Zanzibar by your Majesty’s ships, Sperber and Schwalbe, and all honors coupled with great affability have been accorded us. I gratefully remember the hospitality and princely affability extended to me at Potsdam, and am profoundly impressed with your Majesty’s condescension, kindness and gracious welcome. With a full and sincere heart I exclaim, “Long live the noble Emperor William!”
The Anti-Slavery Conference in Brussels, sent him a greeting by cable in these words:
We have been deeply moved by the sufferings and perils you have braved. We congratulate you upon the success of your expedition, and appreciate the great services you have rendered. Convey our sympathy to Emin Pasha.
We have been deeply moved by the sufferings and perils you have braved. We congratulate you upon the success of your expedition, and appreciate the great services you have rendered. Convey our sympathy to Emin Pasha.
Professor G. B. Adams, of Yale College, says:
This is the greatest and most important of Stanley’s explorations. His pluck and self-confidence are nothing short of miraculous. I am inclined to believe that Stanley has proven what modern geographers have conjectured concerning the soil and physical features of the region he has explored. One of the most striking portions of his letter is his description of a temperate region under the “burning Equator.” Just what the extent of this tract is, and exactly what he means, will be anxiously waited for by the scientific world. There is every reason to believe that Stanley has opened the gates of Africa for the progress of civilization.His firm belief in religious guidance has been one of the greatest elements of his success, without which even Stanley’s determination and genius would have quailed before such gigantic difficulties.
This is the greatest and most important of Stanley’s explorations. His pluck and self-confidence are nothing short of miraculous. I am inclined to believe that Stanley has proven what modern geographers have conjectured concerning the soil and physical features of the region he has explored. One of the most striking portions of his letter is his description of a temperate region under the “burning Equator.” Just what the extent of this tract is, and exactly what he means, will be anxiously waited for by the scientific world. There is every reason to believe that Stanley has opened the gates of Africa for the progress of civilization.
His firm belief in religious guidance has been one of the greatest elements of his success, without which even Stanley’s determination and genius would have quailed before such gigantic difficulties.
Professor A. M. Wheeler says:
Every civilized man owes a debt of gratitude to Stanley. To my mind the exploration is without parallel in the history of discoveries. He is the Columbus of the nineteenth century. No geographer had dared to conjecture what Stanley has now made a reality. His unswerving fidelity to one purpose, amid the greatest dangers that have ever befallen man, is wonderful. The discovery of the connection of Albert Edward Nyanza and Albert Nyanza is but one of his triumphs over what was beyond the reach of all other African explorers. Stanley’s work seems like that of an inspired man.
Every civilized man owes a debt of gratitude to Stanley. To my mind the exploration is without parallel in the history of discoveries. He is the Columbus of the nineteenth century. No geographer had dared to conjecture what Stanley has now made a reality. His unswerving fidelity to one purpose, amid the greatest dangers that have ever befallen man, is wonderful. The discovery of the connection of Albert Edward Nyanza and Albert Nyanza is but one of his triumphs over what was beyond the reach of all other African explorers. Stanley’s work seems like that of an inspired man.
Ex-Judge Charles P. Daly, President of the Geographical Society of New York City, says:
His geographical insight is wonderful. When going north on the Congo and passing the Equator, he felt that he would come out on the east coast of Africa, and he has done so. That, I think, is quite remarkable. Stanley is one of the most remarkable explorers of the age.
His geographical insight is wonderful. When going north on the Congo and passing the Equator, he felt that he would come out on the east coast of Africa, and he has done so. That, I think, is quite remarkable. Stanley is one of the most remarkable explorers of the age.
George C. Hurlbert, Esq., also of the Geographical Society of New York City, and who has followed the exploration in Africa closely, says:
Everything was against Stanley in his task, but he showed himself to be a born ruler—a leader of men. He overcame dangers with a persistency, energy andpluck that commanded all praise. It was the quality of the man that always conquered and came to the front, and Stanley’s quality has brought him through all difficulties. He had the courage and the enterprise and the will to achieve great things. He had the gifts of a great explorer.
Everything was against Stanley in his task, but he showed himself to be a born ruler—a leader of men. He overcame dangers with a persistency, energy andpluck that commanded all praise. It was the quality of the man that always conquered and came to the front, and Stanley’s quality has brought him through all difficulties. He had the courage and the enterprise and the will to achieve great things. He had the gifts of a great explorer.
Professor Libbey, of Princeton College, says:
With regard to the geographical results it would be hard to tell their magnitude at present, but we cannot doubt but that they will be of great importance, judging from the information contained in the letters which have reached us from time to time, the discoveries, already hinted at, showing that the White Nile rises in Lake Muta Nzige, giving us a better knowledge of the shape of this lake; the discovery of the River Semlike and Mount Ruevenzori, which rivals in height the giant of the eastern coast, Kilimanjaro, and his further discoveries in the course of the outlines of Victoria Nyanza.Undoubtedly there will be a rich harvest of information concerning the country lying between the Congo and Lake Albert Edward, and also between the lakes and the coast. I think Stanley was right in his decision to go around the Cape of Good Hope and up the Congo rather than to push his heavily-laden caravan through the mountains and the hostile country between the lakes and the Zanzibar coast. Not one of the least advantages of the trip will be the fact that he has brought Emin Bey back with him to civilization, where it is hoped that this learned, enthusiastic and successful student of the races and the natural history of the country in which he has so long been a voluntary exile will be content to remain and give to the world some of the valuable stores of knowledge, to obtain which came so near costing him his life.
With regard to the geographical results it would be hard to tell their magnitude at present, but we cannot doubt but that they will be of great importance, judging from the information contained in the letters which have reached us from time to time, the discoveries, already hinted at, showing that the White Nile rises in Lake Muta Nzige, giving us a better knowledge of the shape of this lake; the discovery of the River Semlike and Mount Ruevenzori, which rivals in height the giant of the eastern coast, Kilimanjaro, and his further discoveries in the course of the outlines of Victoria Nyanza.
Undoubtedly there will be a rich harvest of information concerning the country lying between the Congo and Lake Albert Edward, and also between the lakes and the coast. I think Stanley was right in his decision to go around the Cape of Good Hope and up the Congo rather than to push his heavily-laden caravan through the mountains and the hostile country between the lakes and the Zanzibar coast. Not one of the least advantages of the trip will be the fact that he has brought Emin Bey back with him to civilization, where it is hoped that this learned, enthusiastic and successful student of the races and the natural history of the country in which he has so long been a voluntary exile will be content to remain and give to the world some of the valuable stores of knowledge, to obtain which came so near costing him his life.
The BostonTranscript, in a late issue, says:
An experience like that which Stanley went through in Africa, and of which he sends the world a graphic and harrowing account, is well calculated to awaken all the latent piety in a brave man’s nature. Men who war with nature and with barbarous peoples, and who pass through narrow escapes and dreadful emergencies, are always the last to assert that they themselves performed the wonders which they witness. Stanley has pretty well established a claim to greatness in this last African venture of his, and it is not strange to those who have read history to find him exclaiming, with many other men of great force and genius: “There was a Divinity that hedged me about.”
An experience like that which Stanley went through in Africa, and of which he sends the world a graphic and harrowing account, is well calculated to awaken all the latent piety in a brave man’s nature. Men who war with nature and with barbarous peoples, and who pass through narrow escapes and dreadful emergencies, are always the last to assert that they themselves performed the wonders which they witness. Stanley has pretty well established a claim to greatness in this last African venture of his, and it is not strange to those who have read history to find him exclaiming, with many other men of great force and genius: “There was a Divinity that hedged me about.”
Captain O’Kane, Commander of the U. S. Steamer Boston, says:
I consider Mr. Stanley’s expedition a marvellous one, and his successful arrival at the coast an achievement of which the world—and particularly America—may be proud.Mr. Stanley has now opened to civilizing influences the last important unexplored region of the world, and all future ages will applaud and honor him for it.
I consider Mr. Stanley’s expedition a marvellous one, and his successful arrival at the coast an achievement of which the world—and particularly America—may be proud.
Mr. Stanley has now opened to civilizing influences the last important unexplored region of the world, and all future ages will applaud and honor him for it.
Stanley on arriving at Cairo, Egypt, on January 14th, met with a great and notable reception at the station from Sir Evelyn Baring, General Sir Francis Grenfell, Acting United States Consul Grant, and others. He went to the Khedive’s palace in state, and made an official call on him lasting half an hour, and was decorated with the Grand Cordon of the Medjidich, a very distinguished honor. He also here received an officer bearing a special letter of congratulation from King Leopold of Belgium.
“Throughout the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, and the same may be said of Europe and the rest of the civilized world, the name of Stanley is on every tongue. On the streets, in the clubs, wherever men congregate, the one theme of conversation is Stanley, his wonderful achievements and his modesty, as illustrated in his letter to the ‘Herald,’ which is on all sides held to be a masterpiece and to stamp its author as a truly great man.”—London Cablegram to N. Y. Herald.
“Throughout the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, and the same may be said of Europe and the rest of the civilized world, the name of Stanley is on every tongue. On the streets, in the clubs, wherever men congregate, the one theme of conversation is Stanley, his wonderful achievements and his modesty, as illustrated in his letter to the ‘Herald,’ which is on all sides held to be a masterpiece and to stamp its author as a truly great man.”—London Cablegram to N. Y. Herald.
The Worshipful Company of Turners, of London, at a banquet held on the evening of December 5th, received the following telegram from the King of the Belgians:
I understand you will, as Master for the second year of the Worshipful Company of Turners, propose at their annual dinner the health of your illustrious honorary member, Mr. Henry M. Stanley. Let me, as an honorary member of the Worshipful Company, a title I am proud to possess, assure you beforehand how cordially and gladly I join the Turners in all their expressions of admiration of the unparalleled and heroic services rendered by our friend Stanley to science and civilization in that vast continent, in the discovery of which he has taken so great a share.KING OF THE BELGIANS,Sovereign of the Congo State.
I understand you will, as Master for the second year of the Worshipful Company of Turners, propose at their annual dinner the health of your illustrious honorary member, Mr. Henry M. Stanley. Let me, as an honorary member of the Worshipful Company, a title I am proud to possess, assure you beforehand how cordially and gladly I join the Turners in all their expressions of admiration of the unparalleled and heroic services rendered by our friend Stanley to science and civilization in that vast continent, in the discovery of which he has taken so great a share.
KING OF THE BELGIANS,Sovereign of the Congo State.
Mr. Burdett-Coutts, the President of the Company, proposed the health of Stanley; and, on motion, it was directed that the greetings of the Company should be despatched to the hero at Zanzibar.
The message despatched by Mr. Burdett-Coutts to Zanzibar was as follows: