CHAPTER IX
Thefootman brought the coffee which he placed on a table between the chairs on which Gaunt and Drake were seated and then withdrew silently. Neither of them spoke but their faces bore an expression of great gravity, for they realized that they were about to discuss a question of vast importance, and that this discussion was likely to be a momentous one.
“I suppose it is the Congo?” Drake at last ventured to say.
“Yes—compared with that, all my other sins are light. To fulfill my promise I must try to remedy the state of affairs that I helped to bring into existence,” Gaunt said quietly.
“I know a good deal of its history, but I wish that you would tell me something from the inside. I want to be able to understand from your point of view,” Drake answered.
“It’s a gruesome subject, but I will do as you ask. It is only within the last few years that Europe has begun to grasp a little of the truth—of the infamies, of the murderings and torturings that have been committed in the name of civilization. I must go back to the commencement, and I will admit that when the late King of the Belgians entered into the agreement with Stanley to represent him in making treaties with the natives, he had no intention of exploiting the country in the way he did.King Leopold gained the consent of Europe and the United States to forming the Congo Free State with the plea that he wished to develop the country for the good of its inhabitants. In fact he termed himself a philanthropist and promised that the natives should be his first consideration. And so in 1884 the Congo Free State was formed under the benign auspices of the Great Powers of the world—England and America being especially interested. For some years—until 1891—these promises were more or less faithfully carried out, and the country was developed, the natives being paid for the work they did. But the Belgians are not born colonizers, and the financial position became desperate. King Leopold had sunk fifty thousand pounds of his own money, and in those days he was not a rich man. I suppose it is unnecessary for me to refer to the late King’s private life, to his licentiousness, to his extravagance, to his——”
“Quite so,” Drake broke in hurriedly. “De mortuis nil——”
“That maxim may apply in ordinary cases, but to one with the crimes that lay on the soul of King Leopold——”
Gaunt broke off with a shrug of the shoulders, and lapsed into silence. His eyes were moody and Drake thought he could detect something of shame in their expression.
“An Englishman—the late Colonel North—invested a large sum in one of the companies formed to exploit the rubber trade and that was my first connection with the Congo. I went out there determined to amass wealth, and I arrived just about the time that King Leopold was beginning to discover that he owned a littlegold mine. Hitherto the natives had been paid for the rubber which they collected, but it occurred to his Majesty that such a payment was unnecessary. Accordingly he appropriated the land, the produce of the soil, and the labor of the people—in spite of the promises to the great powers of Europe. It was but natural that the natives would not submit to such robbery without a struggle, and so the Congo raised a vast army of natives to carry out this policy.”
Drake was deeply interested, and his eyes were fixed eagerly on Gaunt.
“I will only tell you what I saw with my own eyes,” the latter continued. “I was sent to the Mongalla district. I arrived at the house of the chief of the post and I noticed a little crowd gathered in front of it. A woman was strung up to a post, and a huge native was flogging her with a weapon they called thechicotte—a whip of rhinoceros hide that cuts deeply into the flesh. A white man was counting monotonously and he had reached the number one hundred and ninety. He stopped when he saw me, but the native continued to strike. ‘What is the matter?’ I cried. The officer looked at me in surprise. ‘She is the wife of a chief who won’t bring in his rubber,’ he replied. I looked at the woman, and she was dead.”
Drake shuddered, and his face had grown very white.
“Didn’t you interfere?” he asked hoarsely.
“What could I do? I was out there to make money, and use soon accustomed me to such sights. I won’t go into details, but will merely say that human life and suffering were held as naught. The orders were that so much rubber must be sent down the river, and the onlyway to get the natives to collect it was by the fear of death and torture.”
“Had you a direct hand in this business?” Drake asked in a low voice.
“No—but I profited by the method in which the rubber was obtained. I don’t want to harrow your feelings, but I tell you that every pound of rubber that has come from the Congo has been and is being produced by the wholesale murdering and torturing of the natives,” Gaunt said solemnly.
“You use the present tense. Surely now that the Congo has been taken over by Belgium, things are better?”
“Not one whit—and they never will be better so long as a Belgian remains in power.”
“But the new King. He is of good repute, and——”
“The new King will not have the slightest power to alter the conditions. Years of rapine and murder have reduced the Congo to such a state that the present methods must continue. The alternative is bankruptcy,” Gaunt answered.
There was horror on Drake’s face, and his lips were pressed into a straight line.
“When the Belgian government took over the Congo,” Gaunt continued, “they gave a pledge that the condition of the natives should be improved immediately. I have means of obtaining information of what is really taking place, and I saw that they have no intention of relinquishing their methods of obtaining rubber by murder and torture. But they have promised to open the Congo to the trade of the world in three stages. That is, they have divided the country into three portions. The firstis to be opened out in a few months, but I may say that that portion is one that has already been devastated by murder and the land has been depleted of its one valuable product—namely, rubber. A year later a second portion is to be thrown open—by that time it will be in the same state as the first.”
“It is dastardly,” Drake broke in angrily.
“No date has been given as to the opening out of the third portion—and for a good reason—the country is practically untouched, and they propose first to exhaust it by their usual methods. When the country has been drained dry—when the Belgians have earned their millions, then, and not till then, will they admit the foreigner.”
“Do you mean to say seriously that now—at this moment, the Belgians are collecting rubber in the same way as they did in the past?” Drake asked in a whisper.
Gaunt nodded his head.
“Yes. They think it is a simple matter to fool Europe as they have done in the past. There are companies with a capital of a few thousands that pay an annual dividend of a quarter of a million pounds. You can readily understand how it is done. Their labor costs them nothing, and every native has to work six days out of the seven to bring in his allotted weight of rubber. If he fails he is flogged to death and his family is imprisoned. Thousands of women have been flogged and starved, because their men have not been able to bring in the required quantity of rubber.”
“And this is the twentieth century—it seems incredible!”
“But the state of things has been proved by innumerabletrustworthy witnesses. It is strange to me that the British people have not been fired by the hearing of such atrocities. I suppose the Congo is too remote a country,” Gaunt said reflectively.
Drake had risen and began to pace rapidly to and fro. His brow was puckered into a frown and it was evident that he was deeply moved.
“I don’t think that we have everreallyrealized it. These poor innocent natives, butchered in cold blood, and all for the sake of gold. And they are white people as ourselves who reap the profit from this slavery.”
“Their condition is worse than slavery,” Gaunt said quietly.
“Can nothing be done? Are we quite helpless?” Drake cried passionately.
There was no reply and there was something akin to contempt in the look that he gave Gaunt.
“You are a rich man, and you say that your wealth was founded on this base traffic. You are in the confidence of these monsters who are wringing gold by murder and torture—can you think of no remedy?” he cried vehemently.
“It is a difficult question. Europe is too busy with its own affairs to concern itself. Righteous England has only been able to talk and threaten and has been afraid of deeds. Belgium has taken advantage of this, and has calmly gone its own way, secure in the knowledge that we should confine ourselves to words.”
“But there must be some way of helping these poor people,” Drake said desperately.
“If you can suggest anything I shall be glad to listen to you. I appreciate that it is my duty to do all thatlies in my power. I place myself in your hands, Drake——”
“It is an awful responsibility. But I will find a way. This talk with you has brought the grim reality before my eyes. I shall know no rest until we attempt something to help. At this moment innocent people are being done to death. It is infamous.”
“There is no alternative while the present people have power. Unless they force the natives to work rubber will cease to come in. The people are broken and the land devastated to such an extent that it will take generations to recover. If the Congo is to be governed equitably, it will be necessary to sink millions in the country instead of draining them out. No, Drake, the position is hopeless so long as the Belgians rule the Congo.”
“I will not believe it. There must be some remedy for such a heart-breaking state of affairs. No punishment would be too great for the men who have perpetrated this crime.”
Gaunt did not speak but concentrated all his attention on the fresh cigar he had taken from the box.
“Are you with me heart and soul? Would you make any sacrifice to help this downtrodden people?” Drake asked, and now he spoke quietly and calmly.
“I repeat that I am in your hands,” Gaunt replied.
“God will help me to find a way.”
The words were spoken confidently and the two men stared at one another steadily.