EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA.
Stanley felt, as he stood and looked off on the broad expanse of water,
like one who had achieved a great victory, and he said that the wealth
of the universe could not then bribe him to turn back from his work. The
boat of a white man had never been launched on its surface, and he
longed to see the Lady Alice afloat, that he might change the guesses of
Livingstone, Speke and others, into certainty. He had started to
complete Livingstone's unfinished work, and now he was in a fair way to
do it. How much Cameron, who was somewhere in the interior on the same
mission, had accomplished, he did not know, he only knew that with no
boat at his command, like the Lady Alice, that he had transported
through so many hundreds of miles of jungle, his movements would be very
much crippled.
He now mustered his entire force, to see what he had to rely on before
setting out, and found it to consist of three white men and one hundred
and six Wanguana soldiers, twenty-eight having died since leaving Itwru
thirty days before, or at an average of nearly one a day. This was a
gloomy prospect. Before beginning his real work one-half of his entire
expedition had disappeared. Dysentery had been the great scourge that
had thinned their ranks so fearfully. Stanley in the first place was not
a physician, while even those remedies which ordinarily might have
proved efficacious were rendered well-nigh useless by the necessity of
constant marching. Rest alone would have cured a great many, but he felt
compelled to march. Whether the necessity for marching with the rapidity
he did, was sufficiently urgent to justify him in sacrificing so many
lives, he doubtless is the best judge. These poor men were not
accustomed to travel at the rate he kept them moving. Had they marched
as leisurely as an Arab caravan, they would have been nine months or a
year in making the distance which Stanley had accomplished in the short
space of one hundred and three days.
He was at last on the lake that Baker hoped to reach with his steam
vessels, and here he expected to meet Gordon, his successor, but he
evidently had not yet arrived, for the natives told him that no boats
had been seen on the water. They related strange tales, however, of the
people inhabiting the shores. One told him of a race of dwarfs, another
of a tribe of giants, another still of a people who kept a breed of dogs
so large that even Stanley's mastiffs were small in comparison. How much
or little of this was true, he, of course, could not tell, still it
excited his curiosity, and increased his desire to explore the country.
He reached the lake on the 28th of February, and in eight days had
everything ready, and launched his boat. He selected ten good oarsmen,
who, with the steersman and himself, composed the boat's crew, and the
whole force with which he was to overcome all the difficulties that he
might encounter.
The camp was left in charge of Frank Pocoke and young Barker. Naming the
large body of water, into which the Shimeeyu and Ruano Rivers flowed,
Speke Bay, in honor of the distinguished explorer, he sailed east along
the irregular coast. To-day passing a district thinly populated,
to-morrow a rugged hill country, through which the elephants wandered in
immense droves, and of course, thronged with elephant hunters, he passed
various tribes, until he came to the mouth of the Ruano River,
discharging a large volume of water into Speke Bay, but nothing in
comparison with the Shimeeyu and the Kagera, the two great river
supplies of the lake. The former is the largest of all, and at its mouth
a mile wide. Its length is three hundred and seventy miles and is, he
says, the extreme southern source of the Nile.
The water he named Speke Bay is on the northeastern side, and where he
crossed it about twelve miles wide. Sterile plains succeeded barren
mountains, thin lines of vegetation along the borders of the lake alone
giving space for cultivation, came and went until they reached the great
island of Ukerewe, divided from the mainland only by a narrow channel.
This was a true oasis, for it was covered with herds of cattle, and
verdue, and fruits, and rich in ivory. He found the king an amiable man,
and his subjects a peaceful, commercial people. Although this was a
large island, more than forty miles long, the king owned several of the
neighboring islands. Nothing of importance occurred on this voyage, as
day after day they wound in and out along the deeply corrugated coast or
sailed by islands, the people on shore all being friendly. They at
length came in sight of the high table-land of Majita, which Speke
thought to be an island, but which Stanley demonstrated, by actual
survey, to be only a promontory. It rises some three thousand feet above
the level of the lake, and is surrounded by low brown plains, which, to
the distant observer, resemble water.
Stanley continued his course along the eastern shore of the lake,
proceeding northerly, and at last reached the coast of the Uriri
country, a district of pastoral land dotted over with fine cattle.
Bordering on this is Ugegeya, a land of fables and wonders, the "El
Dorado" of slave hunters and traders in ivory. It is the natural home of
the elephant, which is found here in great numbers. In crossing a broad
bay he first got sight of it, rising in a series of tall mountains
before him. From their base the country rolls away to the east in one
vast plain twenty-five miles wide, over which roam great herds of
cattle, getting their own living and furnishing plenty of meat to the
indolent inhabitants. Stanley constantly inquired of the natives
concerning the country inland, its character and people, and was told
many wonderful stories, in which it was impossible to say how much fable
was mixed. Among other things, they reported that about fifteen days'
march from this place, were mountains that spouted forth fire at times
and smoke.
Keeping north, he says: "We pass between the Island Ugingo and the
gigantic mountains of Ugegeya, at whose base the Lady Alice seems to
crawl like a mite in a huge cheese, while we on board admire the
stupendous height, and wonder at the deathly silence which prevails in
this solitude, where the boisterous winds are hushed and the turbulent
waves are as tranquil as a summer dream. The natives, as they pass,
regard this spot with superstition, as well they might, for the silent
majesty of these dumb, tall mounts awes the very storms to peace. Let
the tempests bluster as they may on the spacious main beyond the cape,
in this nook, sheltered by tall Ugingo isle and lofty Goshi in the
mainland, they inspire no fear. It is this refuge which Goshi promises
the distressed canoemen that causes them to sing praises of Goshi, and
to cheer one another when wearied and benighted, that Goshi is near to
protect them."
Sailing in and out among the clustering islands, they see two low
isolated islands in the distance, and make toward them to camp there for
the night. "There," says Stanley, "under the overspreading branches of a
mangrove tree we dream of unquiet waters, and angry surfs, and
threatening rocks, to find ourselves next morning tied to an island,
which, from its peculiarity, I called Bridge Island. While seeking a
road to ascend the island, to take bearings, I discovered a natural
bridge of basalt, about twenty feet in length and twelve in breadth,
under which one might repose comfortably, and from one side see the
waves lashed to fury and spend their strength on the stubborn rocks,
which form the foundation of the arch, while from the other we could see
the boat, secure under the lee of the island, resting on a serene and
placid surface, and shaded by mangrove branches from the hot sun of the
equator. Its neighborhood is remarkable only for a small cave, the haunt
of fishermen." After taking a survey of the neighboring mainland, he
hoisted sail and scudded along the coast before a freshening breeze. At
noon he found himself, by observation, to be under the equator. Seeing
an opening in the lake that looked like the mouth of a river, he sailed
into it to find it was only a deep bay. Coming in sight of a village, he
anchored near it and tried to make friends with some wild-looking
fishermen on the shore, but the naked savages only "stared at them from
under penthouses of hair, and hastily stole away to tell their families
of the strange apparition they had seen."
This sail of one hundred miles alone the coast of this vast lake, though
somewhat monotonous and tame in its details to the reader, furnished one
of the most interesting episodes in Stanley's life--not because the
scenery was new and beautiful, but because he, with his white sail, and
fire-arms, and strange dress, was as strange and wonderful to these
natives as was Columbus, with his ship, and cannon, and cavaliers to the
inhabitants of the New World. Though often differing in appearance, and
language, and manner, they were almost uniformly friendly, and in the
few cases where they proved hostile, they were drunk, which makes
civilized men, as well as savages, quarrelsome. It was frequently very
difficult to win their confidence, and often Stanley would spend hours
in endeavoring to remove their suspicions. In this wild, remote home,
their lives pass on without change, each generation treading in the
footsteps of the preceding one--no progress, no looking forward to
increased knowledge or new developments. There were no new discoveries
to arouse their mental faculties, no aspirations for a better condition,
and they were as changeless as their tropical climate. Hence, to them
the sudden appearance of this strange phenomenon on their beautiful lake
could not be accounted for. It had seemingly dropped from the clouds,
and at the first discharge of a pistol they were startled and filled
with amazement.
Stanley, whether rowing or sailing, kept close to the shore, that
nothing worthy of note should escape him, frequently landing to
ascertain the name of the district he was in, the bays he crossed, the
mountains he saw, and the rivers that emptied into the lake. In short,
he omitted nothing which was necessary to a complete survey and
knowledge of this hitherto unknown body of water.
After leaving this bay, they came in a short time to a river which was
full of hippopotami. Two huge fellows swam so near the boat that Stanley
was afraid they would attack it, and ordered the men to pull away from
them. Although hunting these huge beasts might be very exciting sport,
and a tolerably safe one in boats properly built, to expose the Lady
Alice, with her slender cedar sides, to their tusks would have been a
piece of folly close akin to madness. Her safety was of more consequence
than all the hippopotami in Africa. He was an explorer, not a hunter;
and to risk all the future of the former to gratify the pleasure of the
latter would have shown him unfit to command so important an expedition
as this. Like the boat that carried Caesar and his fortunes, the Lady
Alice bore in her frail sides destines greater than the imagination can
conceive. So hoisting sail they caught the freshening breeze and flew
along the ever-changing shore lined with villages, out of which swarmed
a vast crowd of people, showing a much more densely populated district
than they had yet seen. He found the name of it to be Mahita; and
wishing to learn the names of some of the villages he saw, the boat was
turned toward shore and anchored within fifty yards of it, but with a
cable long enough to let them drift to within a few feet of it. Some
half a dozen men wearing small shells above their elbows and a circle
round their heads came down to the beach, opening a conversation with
them. Stanley learned the name of the country, but they refused to tell
him anything more till he landed. While getting ready to do so, he
noticed the numbers on the shore increased with astonishing rapidity,
and seemed to be greatly excited. This aroused his suspicions, and he
ordered the rowers to pull off again. It was lucky he did, for he had
scarcely put three lengths between him and the shore, when suddenly out
of the bushes on each side of the spot where he was to land arose a
forest of spears.
Stanley did not intend to go away entirely, but lie off till they became
less excited, but this evidence of treachery caused him to change his
mind, and he ordered the sail to be hoisted, and moved away toward a
point at the mouth of the cove, which, with the wind as it was blowing,
they could but little more than clear. The negroes seeing this, sent up
a loud shout, and hurried off to reach it before the boat did. Stanley
penetrating their design, ordered the sail to be lowered and the rowers
to pull dead to windward. The discomfited savages looked on in amazement
to see the prize slip through their fingers so easily. It was a narrow
escape, for had Stanley landed, he would doubtless have been overpowered
and killed before he could use his weapons.
It was now late in the afternoon, and the savages made no attempt to
follow them, and at dusk, coming to a small island, they tied up and
camped for the night, lulled to sleep by the murmur of the waves on the
beach.
The next day continuing their course, they at last sailed into the bay,
which forms the northeastern extremity of the Victoria Nyanza. The
eastern side of this bay is lined with bold hills and ridges, but at the
extreme end where the Tagama River comes in, the country is flat. The
expedition now began to move westward in its slow circumnavigation of
the lake, and came at length to Muiwanda. Here they found the savages
friendly, and they landed and obtained from them, at fair prices, such
provisions and vegetables as they desired. They also gave Stanley all
the information they could of the neighboring country. They told him
that the name of the bay in which they rode, and which was the extreme
northern limit of the lake, was Baringo. They had evidently not been
great travelers or much visited by any tribes living away from their own
coast, for they said that they had never heard of any other lake, great
or small, except that one--the Nyanza. Considering that this whole
central region of Africa is dotted with lakes, and that the Tanganika,
an inland sea, is not three hundred miles distant, it is evident they
must live very much isolated from any but their own people. Stanley had
now surveyed the southern, eastern and northeastern shores of the lake,
and had taken thirty-seven observations and entered almost every nook
and cove of this vast body of water. He had corrected the map of Speke,
made on the report of the natives--proved that he was wrong in his
latitude of the lake, and taken such ample notes that he could make out
an accurate chart of that portion he had thus traversed. He makes the
extreme eastern point of the lake end in 34 deg. 35' east longitude,
and 33' 43" north latitude.
After he had finished his exploration thus far, Stanley went over his
route, to gain a general knowledge of the country, the location and
approximate size of the various districts, and general character of the
inhabitants. The north shore he found indented with deep bays, and so
completely land-locked, that they might easily be mistaken for separate
lakes, while the islands clustered so thickly and closely to the shore
that unless thoroughly examined, would be taken for portions of the
mainland. But Stanley has traced it out so plainly, that the outline of
the shore is as distinct as that of Lake Ontario.