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.
"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 Englandto 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]
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,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."
"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 arrangementsare 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 steamerMadura, 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 andwild 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 inDecember, 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 captureall 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 threep.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."
"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 steamerMadura, 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 andwild 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 inDecember, 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 captureall 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 threep.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."
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."
"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."
"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 carriedby 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.
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.
CHIEF OF COAST TRIBE IN PORTUGUESE TERRITORY.
It was mentioned in the first chapter of this volume that Frank and Fred had provided themselves with a parcel of books which were to constitute the reading-matter for the voyage, "Through the Dark Continent" being of the number. Transatlantic travellers generally carry four or five times as many books as they can possibly read during their transit over the ocean, and our young friends were no exceptions to the rule. They were so absorbed with the readings which have just been described, and the presence of Mr. Stanley on the steamer, that they gave little attention to books other than the interesting volume under consideration.
TATTOOING AMONG THE COAST NATIVES.
But they were not to be thwarted in their determination to informthemselves about Africa, and, after the voyage was over, devoted all the time they could spare to the perusal of the books which had been left unopened during the voyage. Frank busied himself with "Through Masai Land," a journey of exploration among the snow-clad volcanic mountains and strange tribes of eastern equatorial Africa, while Fred perused the life of Bishop Hannington and the account of his mission to the people of Uganda. As for Doctor Bronson, he contented himself with keeping an eye on the progress of the youths in their readings and in turning the leaves of "The Kilimanjaro Expedition," a volume which describes the work of an expedition of the Royal Geographical Society for the study of the region around Mount Kilimanjaro in eastern Africa, between the Indian Ocean and the Victoria Nyanza.
DOORWAY OF A HOUSE AT MOMBASA.
"What can you tell us about Masai Land?" said the Doctor to Frank, one morning while they were at breakfast.
"It's a remarkable country," was the reply, "and though one of the parts of Africa earliest known to travellers, so far as its coast is concerned, it was one of the latest to be explored. The routes from Zanzibar to Lakes Tanganika, Victoria, and Nyassa, and the Zambezi country are now pretty well known and almost as familiar to the reading public as the road from London to Brighton, but Masai Land was until very recently practically unknown."
"Please tell us exactly where Masai Land is," said the doctor, "so that we shall know what you are describing."
"It is that part of Africa east of the Victoria Nyanza," was the reply, "and of a line drawn through that lake perhaps a hundred miles each way north and south of it. Vasco di Gama, who first sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, landed on the coast of this region and was near being wrecked on the reefs of Mombasa, which is its principal port. The place is mentioned in a Portuguese book published in 1530, and a curious fact is that there was even at that early date a rumor of the existence of the snow-clad mountains that were never seen by a white man until 1848. In fact, from the time of Vasco di Gama down to 1842 hardly anything was added to our knowledge of that part of the world."
"Are you sure about the mention of the high mountains in that Portuguese book?"
"Entirely so," was the reply. "Mr. Thomson, the author of 'Through Masai Land,' quotes from it as follows: 'West of Mombasa is the Mount Olympus of Ethiopia, which is exceedingly high, and beyond it are the Mountains of the Moon, in which are the sources of the Nile.' The Mount Olympus which is thus mentioned is quite likely Kilimanjaro; the Mountains of the Moon are not yet easy to locate, as they have not thus far been found by explorers. They may possibly exist in some of the hitherto untraversed regions on the southern borders of Abyssinia."
Fred wished to know who was the first white man to find the snow-clad mountains of Central Africa.
"A German missionary named Krapf came to Mombasa in 1842 in search of a way to open Eastern Africa to Christianity. He began studying the tribes and people in the neighborhood, and was aided in that work by his colleague, Mr. Rebmann. In 1847 the latter, accompanied by only eight men, made an expedition from the coast as far as the desert region beyond the rich littoral belt, and reached the broken country in the direction of Kilimanjaro. In 1848 he made another journey and for the first time saw the famous mountain, though he was compelled to turn back when still forty miles from its summit. The good man was accompanied by only nine porters, and his only weapon was an umbrella."
"Only an umbrella!" exclaimed Fred, in astonishment.
"Yes, only an umbrella, as he thought it quite enough for a peace-loving missionary to carry. But he seems to have changed his mindlater on, as we find him arming his porters with guns and increasing their numbers, though he still adhered to the old weapon of his first trip. In one part of his journal, on his third expedition, he says: 'It often rained the livelong night, with myself and people lying in the open air without any other shelter than my solitary umbrella.' But it is noticeable that as soon as he began to arm his men he got into trouble, as his third expedition was robbed of everything it possessed and Rebmann was forced to retreat in great distress to the coast.
HEADS OF COAST NATIVES.
"This is the last we hear of Rebmann in exploration," continued Frank, "but his work was followed up by his companion, Dr. Krapf. The latter started in 1851 to found a mission in the interior, but was driven back with a narrow escape from death. He tells how at one time he was attacked by robbers who did not stop at the gunshots fired at them. They pressed on and on, and finally, when the situation was becoming desperate, the doctor opened his umbrella, which so frightened the scoundrels that they fled in terror.
"Several explorers, missionaries, and others penetrated into the country as far as Kilimanjaro, but rarely beyond it, in the thirty years following 1851, and each of them found the journey more difficult than had been the case with his predecessor, on account of the hostility of the natives and the Arab traders. In 1882 the Royal Geographical Societysent an expedition under command of Mr. Joseph Thomson, who had recently returned from Central Africa, where he had made some extensive explorations. The object of the expedition was purely geographical, Mr. Thomson being instructed to ascertain if a practicable direct route for European travellers could be found from any one of the ports of East Africa to Lake Victoria, to examine Mount Kenia, to gather all possible data for a map of the region, and obtain general information concerning the country and its character, people, animal and vegetable life. The story of what he did on this expedition is told in 'Through Masai Land.'"
"Of course he went first to Zanzibar," said Fred; "that seems to be the starting-point for nearly every expedition for exploring Eastern Africa."
VIEW OF MOMBASA.
"Yes," was the reply, "he not only went first to Zanzibar, but he outfitted his expedition at that point and hired most of his porters among the Zanzibaris. Then he went up the coast to Mombasa, which he made his starting-point for the land journey; he took a few of the coast natives from Mombasa as porters, but did not find them as satisfactory as the Zanzibaris. Among the head men that he engaged for his expedition were several who had served with Stanley in his journey across the continent, including Manwa Sera and Kachéché, the detective. He was greatly disappointed with the former, as he proved altogether lazy and indifferent to his duties; he prided himself so much on his service with Stanley that he regarded himself as a purely ornamental personage while with Mr. Thomson. Kachéché was somewhat better, and as chief of the commissary department he did very well. Mr. Thomson's chief assistant was a Maltese sailor named James Martin, who was unable to read or write, but he had a liberal amount of common-sense that served him in place of education. During the whole journey there was never a single unpleasantness between Mr. Thomson and Martin, which is an exceedingly rare thing in African travel."
"How did they go from Zanzibar to Mombasa?" Fred inquired.
"They went in Arab dhows," Frank answered, "and had a very uncomfortable voyage. But as the distance is only one hundred and twenty miles, or two degrees of latitude, it did not last long, and the whole party was landed safely. Mombasa is on an island; on the other side of the creek which separates it from the mainland is a settlement known as Frere Town."
"I've read about that place," said Fred. "It was founded in accordance with a suggestion of Sir Bartle Frere, when he went to Zanzibar in1873 to try to suppress the slave-trade. The Church Missionary Society of England supplied the money, and the station was established and put in charge of several missionaries. Liberated slaves taken by British cruisers along the coast were sent to Frere Town, and in less than a year after the settlement was made not less than five hundred had been sent there. The natives of the neighborhood were attracted to the place, the population increased, and Frere Town may now be considered the principal station of the Church Missionary Society in Africa. At least that's what I've read in the life of Bishop Hannington."
"You're quite right," said Frank, "and Mr. Thomson received more help from the missionaries in setting out for Masai Land than he did from the Arab authorities of Zanzibar. Several of the men that he hired at Zanzibar had failed to appear when the expedition started, and he managed to fill their places with men from Frere Town. In addition to his assistant, head men, cooks, and personal attendants, he had one hundred and thirteen porters laden with the goods and belongings of the expedition. Twenty-nine carried beads, thirty-four iron, brass, and copper wire, fourteen cloth, fifteen personal stores, nine books, boots, etc., six scientific instruments, photographic apparatus and the like, and ten were laden with tents and tent furniture, cooking utensils, and articles for the table. Then there were ten Askari, or soldiers, and several boys who were expected to be useful in various ways.
"He had the usual trouble with his porters for the first few days on the road, and his soldiers were very busy hunting up deserters and keeping the lines in order. The men engaged at Mombasa and Frere Town were worse than the Zanzibaris, the latter being more accustomed to this kind of work, and besides they were already a good distance from home. Every morning the bugle was sounded and the procession started, the English flag being carried in front to denote its nationality to all whom they might meet on the way. At night the camp was made in open ground, where no one could leave without being seen, and the guards had orders to shoot any one who should try to get away. These orders were given in a loud voice in the hearing of all the porters, with the object of frightening them rather than with any intention of killing them. The order had a good effect, and the men were kept under control."
"I can't understand how it is," said Fred, "that men will engage to go on an expedition and then run away from it at the first chance. Of course I know there are timid persons who are brave at a distance and cowardly when danger is near, but this wholesale desire to desert I cannot comprehend."
CAMP OF AN ENGLISH EXPLORER IN AFRICA.
"Evidently that is peculiar of Africans more than of any other people," the youth replied, "since all explorers tell the same story. You remember how it was with Mr. Stanley, both when he left Zanzibar and later when he started from Ujiji and Nyangwé. In the first place many scoundrelly fellows enlist solely to get the advance pay and not with any intention of keeping their agreement. Then, secondly, all sorts of wild stories are told by the natives of the towns and villages through which a caravan passes, or where it stops for a day or two, so that the fears of the ignorant men are wrought upon. In Mr. Thomson's case the people at Mombasa and Frere Town filled the heads of his porters with the most horrible stories of the cruelties of the inhabitants of Masai Land, and said they were going to certain death. This alarmed them very greatly, and even a white man would have had good reason to hesitate. It is a fact that most of the Arab caravans that had ventured into the interior for the ten years previous to this expedition had met with disaster; all of them had lost men or been robbed of at least a portion of their goods, and one caravan lost no less than one hundred men, or one third its entire strength.
"Mr. Thomson found that the Masai warriors came quite near the coast in their marauding expeditions, and several of the Wa-kamba villages in the region back of Frere Town had been plundered. The Wa-kamba people have large herds of cattle, goats, and sheep; they drive these herds into zeribas or stockades, at night, to prevent their capture, in raids by the Masai. The stories of these raids continued to alarm Mr. Thomson's porters, and, in spite of all his watchfulness, two of his men managed to get away. The attempts at desertion were effectually stopped by the circulation of a report that the Masai had occupied the road in the rear, so that all stragglers and deserters would meet certain death. From that time forward the men were kept in their places through fear of being massacred, if once out of protection of the fighting-men of the expedition."
Frank paused a few moments, and gave Fred an opportunity for another question.
"You remarked," said Fred, "that the early explorers of the country in the direction of Mount Kilimanjaro met with little opposition, Rebmann being accompanied by only eight porters and weaponed with an umbrella. How does it happen that later travellers have found the country so much more difficult of access?"
SLAVE CARAVANS ON THE ROAD.
"I forgot to explain that part of it," was the reply. "When Rebmann and Krapf made their journeys the Arabs had not penetrated thecountry with their slave-hunting expeditions, and consequently the people had not been called to practise the art of war. In the last thirty years the Arabs have pushed far into the interior of Masai Land, just as they have pushed beyond Lake Tanganika and down the valley of the Congo. They have made war upon the natives, burning their villages, devastating their fields, killing those who opposed them and carrying their captives into slavery. The terrible scenes described by Dr. Livingstone, in the accounts of his work and travels, have been repeated over and over again in the region which has Mombasa for its seaport, and thousands of slaves have been shipped from that place to points where they could find a market. The English cruisers along the coast keep a sharp watch for the Arab slave-dhows, and when any slaves are liberated they are taken to Frere Town, as you already know."
"The Arabs set the various tribes to warring against each other," said the Doctor, who had been a listener to the colloquy between the youths, "and were always ready to buy prisoners no matter from which side they were taken. It was estimated that for every slave that reached a market, at least four persons were killed or perished in one way or another. Many were killed in the attacks upon the villages, many of those who escaped captivity perished of hunger in the forest or deserts where they fled for refuge, and of those carried away as slaves, not half ever reached the coast. They died on the road, of hunger or fatigue, or were killed by their owners in consequence of their inability to travel."
"Did the Arabs sometimes leave the weak and sickly ones by the roadside, when they were unable to keep up with the caravans, or did they always kill them?" Fred inquired.
"Sometimes they left them to die or recover, as best they might, and Dr. Livingstone tells how he saw groups of dying people with slave-yokes about their necks, near the road where he travelled. Some of the slave-traders were tender-hearted enough not to take life wantonly, but this was not always the case. Those who looked upon the dreadful traffic purely in the light of business made it a rule to kill every slave who could not keep up with the caravan. They did so not from any special delight in the killing, but because it spurred the survivors on to endure the hardships of the march, and never to yield as long as there was power to drag one foot before the other. Sometimes they tied the unfortunate ones to trees and left them to perish; Dr. Livingstone came frequently upon instances of this barbarity of the Arab slave-dealers."
SLAVES LEFT TO DIE.
"The people had thus a double incentive to learn how to make war,"the Doctor continued, "as soon as the Arabs began to come among them. They endeavored to capture each other, as a matter of gain, and then they wanted to defend their homes and themselves. They became very jealous of the advent of strangers, and thus it came about that travellers needed much larger escorts than formerly. Strange to say, they had no particular desire to stop the slave-trade, and they readily listened to the Arabs, who told them that the presence of Englishmen in the country would interfere with the traffic. Of course the weak and small tribes suffered most by the Arab devastation; the strong tribes found the slave-trade profitable, and thus all the influence was in favor of its continuance. Along the coast towns of Africa, and in the interior districts, you will find many a chief who mourns the day when the foreigners put a stop to the slave-trade, and thus interfered with an industry which he had found profitable.
"And now," he remarked, "we will return to Mr. Thomson and his journey into Masai Land. Frank has the floor."
Thus appealed to, Frank went on with his story.
"After passing the fertile belt along the coast, the expedition entered a desert region where the sun was so hot, shade so scanty, and water so scarce, that it was necessary to make all the marches during the night. The men suffered terribly from thirst, as the most of them, with characteristic African improvidence, drank up in an hour or so the supply of water which had been intended for two days. One night Mr. Thomson started out to find water, as his people were in a desperate condition. He found no water, but lost his way and was unable to return to camp. He says it was the first time he was ever lost in the desert; a feeling of awe took possession of him and he saw lions in every bush. Very soon he heard the roar of a lion, and then his sensations were exceedingly uncomfortable. He wandered aimlessly about; he fired his gun repeatedly, but heard no response. At last he was about to lie down, in despair, when he heard the sound of a gun to which he responded with his last remaining cartridge. Following the direction whence the sound came, he met a search-party that had gone to find him. When he reached camp he had been eighteen hours on his feet, without food and with very little water."
"And what did his people do without water?" Fred inquired.
"Water was found the next day," Frank explained, "but not until some of the men had so broken down that they could not go farther, and it was necessary to send water to revive them. After passing the desert belt they entered a mountain region, where water was abundant andthe natives were friendly. It is the region of the Wa-teita, and consists of a series of slopes around the Ndara Mountain. The Wa-teita have herds of cattle, sheep, and goats, they raise Indian corn, sugar-cane, bananas, sweet potatoes, and similar articles, and have been able to resist the attacks of the Masai, chiefly through the security of their position and their skill in the use of the bow and arrow. The Church Missionary Society has a station among this people, and the natives appear to take kindly to his instruction.