DIFFICULTIES OF LIVINGSTONE AND CAMERON WITH THEIR FOLLOWERS.--PERSONAL
APPEARANCE OF TIPPU-TIB.--NEGOTIATIONS FOR AN ESCORT.--TIPPU-TIB
ARRANGES TO GO WITH STANLEY.--THE WONDERS OF UREGGA.--GORILLAS AND
BOA-CONSTRICTORS.--THEIR REMARKABLE PERFORMANCES.--A NATION OF
DWARFS.--HOW STANLEY DECIDED WHAT ROUTE TO FOLLOW.--HEADS OR
TAILS?--"SHALL IT BE SOUTH OR NORTH?"--SIGNING THE CONTRACT WITH
TIPPU-TIB.--A REMARKABLE ACCIDENT.--ENTERING NYANGWÉ.--LOCATION AND
IMPORTANCE OF THE PLACE.--ITS ARAB RESIDENTS.--MARKET SCENES AT
NYANGWÉ.--READY FOR THE START.
The forenoon of the next day was passed as usual; and in the afternoon
the party assembled for the continuation of the story of the journey
across the Dark Continent. It was Fred's turn to read, and the young man
was promptly in his place at the table, and with the open volume before
him.
[Illustration: HILL AND VILLAGE ON THE ROAD TO NYANGWÉ.]
"Mr. Stanley left us, last evening," said Fred, "on the banks of the
great river which he called the Livingstone, but which is more familiar
to us as the Congo. Early the next day after his arrival he resumed his
march, pressing forward in the direction of Nyangwé, the farthest point
reached by Livingstone and afterwards by Cameron. Both these travellers
greatly desired to explore the mysterious river which flowed past
Nyangwé, but were unable to do so. Neither could induce his men to
advance beyond that point; they tried to purchase or hire canoes with
which to descend the river, but none could be obtained.
"The same fate threatened to fall upon Stanley, and compel him to turn
back to Ujiji just as had been the case with Livingstone. But it was his
good-fortune to meet one Hamed bin Mohammed, or Tippu-Tib, an Arab
trader of great influence, who is well known throughout Central Africa.
He has a large force of Arabs under his control, and is a sort of
migratory king among the people where he moves. He can easily assemble a
thousand Arab fighting-men at a few days' notice, and at almost any
moment he can command the services of two or three hundred of them. Here
is a description of him as given by Mr. Stanley:
"He was a tall, black-bearded man, of negroid complexion, in the
prime of life, straight, and quick in his movements, a picture of
energy and strength. He had a fine, intelligent face, with a
nervous twitching of the eyes, and gleaming white and perfectly
formed teeth. He was attended by a large retinue of young Arabs,
who looked up to him as chief, and a score of Wangwana and
Wanyamwezi followers whom he had led over thousands of miles
through Africa.
"With the air of a well-bred Arab, and almost courtier-like in his
manner, he welcomed me to the village, and his slaves being ready
at hand with mat and bolster, he reclined _vis-à-vis_, while a buzz
of admiration of his style was perceptible from the on-lookers.
After regarding him for a few minutes, I came to the conclusion
that this Arab was a remarkable man--the most remarkable man I had
met among Arabs, Wa-Swahili, and half-castes in Africa. He was neat
in his person, his clothes were of a spotless white, his fez-cap
brand-new, his waist was encircled by a rich dowlé, his dagger was
splendid with silver filigree, and his _tout ensemble_ was that of
an Arab gentleman in very comfortable circumstances.
"The person above described was the Arab who had escorted Cameron
across the Lualaba as far as Utotera, south latitude 5°, and east
longitude 25° 54'. Naturally, therefore, there was no person at
Nyangwé whose evidence was more valuable than Tippu-Tib's as to the
direction that my predecessor at Nyangwé had taken. The information
he gave me was sufficiently clear--and was, moreover, confirmed by
other Arabs--that the greatest problem of African geography was
left untouched at the exact spot where Dr. Livingstone had felt
himself unable to prosecute his travels, and whence he had retraced
his steps to Ujiji never to return to Nyangwé."
"After a long conference," said Fred, "Mr. Stanley asked Tippu-Tib if he
would accompany the expedition in the exploration of the great river.
The Arab at first declined the proposal, but after several interviews
and a considerable amount of negotiation, it was arranged that, in
consideration of five thousand dollars, Tippu-Tib with one hundred and
fifty of his followers would accompany Mr. Stanley for a distance of
sixty marches from Nyangwé in any direction the latter should choose to
take. The contract between them was very carefully drawn, and a
considerable time was spent in arranging it.
[Illustration: WAITING TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED.]
"While these negotiations were in progress Mr. Stanley obtained all the
information possible from Arabs and others relative to the region he
proposed to visit. One Arab who claimed to have followed the course of
the river for a great distance said it flowed 'to the north, to the
north, always to the north, and there is no end to it till it reaches
the salt sea.' He had, he declared, travelled to the north along the
banks of the river till he reached the country of the dwarfs, a journey
of nine months. They were a powerful people, although they were so
small; the men were only a yard high, with big heads and long beards.
His party had a terrible fight with these dwarfs, who fought with
poisoned arrows that cause death almost instantly by the slightest
scratch. Every man that was killed was immediately eaten by the dwarfs,
who have the reputation of being the worst cannibals in all Africa. Out
of two or three hundred Arabs that went on this expedition, only about
thirty remained to return to Nyangwé.
"After listening to this wonderful story Mr. Stanley asked the Arab if
he saw any other curious things on his journey.
[Illustration: A YOUNG SOKO (GORILLA).]
"'Oh, yes!' he answered. 'There are monstrous large boa-constrictors in
the forest of Uregga, suspended by their tails to the branches, waiting
for the passer-by or for a stray antelope. The ants in that forest are
not to be despised. You cannot travel without your body being covered
with them, when they sting you like wasps. The leopards are so numerous
that you cannot go very far without seeing one. Almost every native
wears a leopard-skin cap. The sokos (gorillas) are in the woods, and woe
befall the man or woman met alone by them; for they run up to you and
seize your hands, and bite the fingers off one by one, and as fast as
they bite one off, they spit it out. The Wasongora Meno and Waregga are
cannibals, and unless the force is very strong, they never let strangers
pass. It is nothing but constant fighting. Only two years ago a party
armed with three hundred guns started north of Usongora Meno; they only
brought sixty guns back, and no ivory. If one tries to go by the river,
there are falls after falls, which carry the people over and drown them.
A party of thirty men, in three canoes, went down the river half a day's
journey from Nyangwé, when the old white man (Livingstone) was living
there. They were all drowned, and that was the reason he did not go on.
Had he done so, he would have been eaten, for what could he have done?
Ah, no. Master, the country is bad, and the Arabs have given it up. They
will not try the journey into that country again, after trying it three
times and losing nearly five hundred men altogether.'
"Before closing his contract with Tippu-Tib Mr. Stanley consulted Frank
Pocock, his only remaining white companion, in order to obtain his views
of the matter. I will read his account of the consultation and what
followed it.
"At 6 P.M. a couple of saucers, filled with palm-oil and fixed with
cotton-wick, were lit. It was my after-dinner hour, the time for
pipes and coffee, which Frank was always invited to share.
"When he came in the coffee-pot was boiling, and little Mabruki was
in waiting to pour out. The tobacco-pouch, filled with the
choicest production of Africa--that of Masansi, near Uvira--was
ready. Mabruki poured out the coffee, and retired, leaving us
together.
"'Now Frank, my son,' I said, 'sit down. I am about to have a long
and serious chat with you. Life and death--yours as well as mine,
and those of all the expedition--hang on the decision I make
to-night.'
[Illustration: BLACKSMITHS AT WORK.]
"And then I reminded him of his friends at home, and also of the
dangers before him; of the sorrow his death would cause, and also
of the honors that would greet his success; of the facility of
returning to Zanzibar, and also of the perilous obstacles in the
way of advance--thus carefully alternating the _pro_ with the
_con_, so as not to betray my own inclinations. I reminded him of
the hideous scenes we had already been compelled to witness and to
act in, pointing out that other wicked tribes, no doubt, lay before
us; but also recalling to his memory how treachery, cunning, and
savage courage had been baulked by patience and promptitude; and
how we still possessed the power to punish those who threatened us
or murdered our friends. And I ended with words something like
these:
"'There is, no doubt, some truth in what the Arabs say about the
ferocity of these natives before us. Livingstone, after fifteen
thousand miles of travel, and a lifetime of experience among
Africans, would not have yielded the brave struggle without strong
reasons; Cameron, with his forty-five Snider rifles, would never
have turned away from such a brilliant field if he had not
sincerely thought that they were insufficient to resist the
persistent attacks of countless thousands of wild men. But while we
grant that there may be a modicum of truth in what the Arabs say,
it is in their ignorant, superstitious nature to exaggerate what
they have seen. A score of times have we proved them wrong. Yet
their reports have already made a strong impression on the minds of
the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi. They are already trembling with fear,
because they suspect that I am about to attempt the cannibal lands
beyond Nyangwé. On the day that we propose to begin our journey, we
shall have no expedition.
[Illustration: NATIVE TRAP FOR GAME.]
"'On the other hand, I am confident that, if I am able to leave
Nyangwé with the expedition intact, and to place a breadth of wild
country between our party and the Arab depot, I shall be able to
make men of them. There are good stuff, heroic qualities, in them;
but we must get free from the Arabs, or they will be very soon
demoralized. It is for this purpose I am negotiating with
Tippu-Tib. If I can arrange with him and leave Nyangwé without the
dreadful loss we experienced at Ujiji, I feel sure that I can
inspire my men to dare anything with me.
"'The difficulty of transport, again, is enormous. We cannot obtain
canoes at Nyangwé. Livingstone could not, Cameron failed. No doubt
I shall fail. I shall not try to obtain any. But we might buy up
all the axes that we can see between here and Nyangwé, and
travelling overland on this side the Lualaba, we might, before
Tippu-Tib's contract is at an end, come across a tribe which would
sell their canoes. We have sufficient stores to last a long time,
and I shall purchase more at Nyangwé. If the natives will not sell,
we can make our own canoes, if we possess a sufficient number of
axes to set all hands at work.
"'Now, what I wish you to tell me, Frank, is your opinion as to
what we ought to do.'
"Frank's answer was ready.
"'I say, "Go on, sir."'
"'Think well, my dear fellow; don't be hasty; life and death hang
on our decision. Don't you think we could explore to the east of
Cameron's road?'
"'But there is nothing like this great river, sir.'
"'What do you say to Lake Lincoln, Lake Kamolondo, Lake Bemba, and
all that part, down to the Zambezi?'
"'Ah! that is a fine field, sir; and perhaps the natives would not
be so ferocious. Would they?'
"'Yet, as you said just now, it would be nothing to the great
river, which for all these thousands of years has been flowing
steadily to the north through hundreds, perhaps thousands, of
miles, of which no one has ever heard a word.'
[Illustration: CANOES ON THE RIVER.]
"'Let us follow the river, sir.'
"'Yet, my friend, think yet again. Look at all these faithful
fellows whose lives depend on our word; think of our own, for we
are yet young and strong and active. Why should we throw them away
for a barren honor, or if we succeed have every word we said
doubted, and carped at, and our motives misconstrued by malicious
minds, who distort everything to our injury?'
"'Ah, true, sir. I was one of those who doubted that you had ever
found Livingstone. I don't mind telling you now. Until I came to
Zanzibar, and saw your people, I did not believe it, and there are
hundreds in Rochester who shared my opinion.'
"'And do you believe, Frank, that you are in Manyema now?'
"'I am obliged to, sir.'
"'Are you not afraid, should you return to England, that when men
say you have never been to Africa, as no doubt they will, you will
come to disbelieve it yourself?'
"'Ah, no, sir,' he replied. 'I can never forget Ituru; the death of
my brother in that wild land; the deaths of so many Wangwana there;
the great lake; Uganda; our march to Muta Nzege; Rumanika; my life
in Ujiji; the Tanganika; and our march here.'
"'But what do you think, Frank? Had we not better explore northeast
of here, until we reach Muta Nzege, circumnavigate that lake, and
strike across to Uganda again, and return to Zanzibar by way of
Kagehyi?'
"'That would be a fine job, sir, if we could do it.'
"'Yet, if you think of it, Frank, this great river which
Livingstone first saw, and which broke his heart almost to turn
away from and leave a mystery, is a noble field too. Fancy, by and
by, after buying or building canoes, our floating down the river
day by day, either to the Nile or to some vast lake in the far
north, or to the Congo and the Atlantic Ocean! Think what a benefit
our journey will be to Africa. Steamers from the mouth of the Congo
to Lake Bemba, and to all the great rivers which run into it!'
"'I say, sir, let us toss up; best two out of three to decide it.'
"'Toss away. Here is a rupee.'
"'Heads for the north and the Lualaba; tails for the south and
Katanga.'
"Frank stood up, his face beaming. He tossed the rupee high up. The
coin dropped.
"'What is it?' I asked.
"'Tails, sir!' said Frank, with a face expressive of strong
disapproval.
"'Toss again.'
"He tossed again, and 'tails' was again announced--and six times
running 'tails' won.
[Illustration: "HEADS FOR THE NORTH AND THE LUALABA; TAILS FOR THE
SOUTH AND KATANGA."]
"We then tried straws--the short straws for the south, the long
straws for the River Lualaba--and again we were disappointed, for
Frank persisted in drawing out the short straws, and in leaving the
long straws in my hands.
"'It is of no use, Frank. Well face our destiny, despite the rupee
and straws. With your help, my dear fellow, I will follow the
river.'
"'Mr. Stanley, have no fear of me. I shall stand by you. The last
words of my dear old father were, "Stick by your master." And there
is my hand, sir; you shall never have cause to doubt me.'
"'Good; I shall go on, then. I will finish this contract with
Tippu-Tib, for the Wangwana, on seeing him accompany us, will
perhaps be willing to follow me. We may also recruit others at
Nyangwé. And then, if the natives will allow peaceful passage
through their countries, so much the better. If not, our duty says,
"Go on."'
[Illustration: A FOLLOWER OF TIPPU-TIB.]
"The next night Tippu-Tib and his friends visited me again. The
contract was written, and signed by the respective parties and
their witnesses. The Wangwana chiefs were then called, and it was
announced to them that Tippu-Tib, with one hundred and forty guns
and seventy Wanyamwezi spearmen, would escort us a distance of
sixty camps, when, if we found the countries hostile to us, and no
hopes of meeting other traders, we should return with him to
Nyangwé. If we met Portuguese or Turkish traders, a portion of us
would continue the journey with them, and the remainder would
return with Tippu-Tib to Nyangwé. This announcement was received
with satisfaction, and the chiefs said that, owing to Tippu-Tib's
presence, no Arab at Nyangwé would dare to harbor a runaway from
the expedition.
"Cowries and beads were then counted out and given that evening to
Tippu-Tib, as ration money for ten days from the day of his
departure from Mwana Mamba.
"The next morning, being the 24th of October, the expedition left
Mwana Mamba in high spirits. The good effect of the contract with
Tippu-Tib had already brought us recruits, for on the road I
observed several strange faces of men who, on our arrival at the
first camp, Marimbu, eleven miles northwest from Mwana Mamba,
appeared before my tent, and craved to be permitted to follow us.
They received an advance in cloth, and their names were entered on
the muster-list of the expedition at the same rate of pay as the
other Wanyamwezi and Wangwana.
"Through a fine rolling country, but depopulated, with every mile
marked by ruined villages, we marched in a northwesterly direction,
and on the 25th of October arrived at Kankumba, crossing the Mshama
stream by the way.
"About one mile from our camp was the marshy valley of the Kunda
River, another tributary of the Lualaba, which rises in Uzimba; to
the east-northeast of us, about eight miles off, rose some hilly
cones, spurs of the Manyema hills; on the west stretched a rolling
grassy land extending to the Lualaba.
"The grass (genus _Panicum_) of Manyema is like other things in
this prolific land, of gigantic proportions, and denser than the
richest field of corn. The stalks are an inch in diameter, and
about eight feet high. In fact, what I have called 'grassy land' is
more like a waving country planted with young bamboo.
"Young Kalulu, who, since his recapture at the Uguha port on Lake
Tanganika, had been well behaved, and was in high favor again, met
with a serious and very remarkable accident at Kankumba. A chief,
called Mabruki the elder, had retained a cartridge in his Snider,
contrary to orders, and, leaving it carelessly on the stacked
goods, a hurrying Mgwana kicked it down with his foot, which caused
it to explode. Kalulu, who was reclining on his mat near a fire,
was wounded in no fewer than _eight_ places, the bullet passing
through the outer part of his lower legs, the upper part of his
thigh, and, glancing over his right ribs, through the muscles of
his left arm.
"Though the accident had caused severe wounds, there was no danger,
and, by applying a little arnica, lint, and bandages, we soon
restored him to a hopeful view of his case.
"On the morning of the 27th we descended from our camp at Kankumba
to the banks of the Kunda, a river about forty yards wide, and ten
feet deep at the ferry. The canoe-men were Wagenya, or Wenya,
fishermen under the protection of Sheik Abed bin Salim, alias
'Tanganika.'
[Illustration: A CANOE OF THE WENYA, OR WAGENYA, FISHERMEN.]
"A rapid march of four miles brought us to the outskirts of
Nyangwé, where we were met by Abed bin Salim, an old man of
sixty-five years of age, Mohammed bin Sayid, a young Arab with a
remarkably long nose and small eyes, Sheik Abed's fundis or
elephant-hunters, and several Wangwana, all dressed in spotless
white shirts, crimson fezzes, and sandals.
"Sheik Abed was pleased to monopolize me, by offering me a house in
his neighborhood.
[Illustration: POT-POURRI.
1. Fish-spear. 2,3. Spears. 4,5,6. Arrow-heads. 7,8,9. Modes of
stringing bows. 10,11,12. Knives. 13,14. Walking-sticks. 15. Charm.
16,17,18. Drums. 19. Iron gong. 20,21. Iron bells. 22. Musical
instrument. 23. Marimba. 24. Sticks for playing marimba. 25.
Rattle.]
"The manner that we entered Nyangwé appeared, from subsequent
conversation, to have struck Sheik Abed, who, from his long
residence there, had witnessed the arrival and departure of very
many caravans. There was none of the usual firing of guns and wild
shouting and frenzied action; and the order and steadiness of
veterans, the close files of a column which tolerably well
understood by this time the difference between discipline and
lawlessness with its stragglers and slovenly laggards, made a
marked impression upon the old Arab.
"Another thing that surprised him was the rapidity of the journey
from the Tanganika--three hundred and thirty-eight miles in
forty-three days, inclusive of all halts. He said that the usual
period occupied by Arabs was between three and four months. Yet the
members of the expedition were in admirable condition. They had
never enjoyed better health, and we had not one sick person; the
only one incapacitated for work was Kalulu, and he had been
accidentally wounded only the very night before. Between the
Tanganika and the Arab depot of Nyangwé neither Frank nor I had
suffered the slightest indisposition.
[Illustration: VIEW IN NYANGWÉ.]
"Nyangwé is the extreme westernmost locality inhabited by the Arab
traders from Zanzibar. It stands in east longitude 26° 16', south
latitude 4° 15', on the right or eastern side of the Lualaba, on
the verge of a high and reddish bank rising some forty feet above
the river, with clear open country north along the river for a
distance of three miles, east some ten miles, south over seventy
miles, or as far as the confluence of the Luama with the Lualaba.
The town called Nyangwé is divided into two sections. The northern
section has for its centre the quarters of Muini Dugumbi, the first
Arab arrival here (in 1868); and around his house are the
commodious quarters of his friends, their families and slaves--in
all, perhaps, three hundred houses. The southern section is
separated from its neighbor by a broad hollow, cultivated and sown
with rice for the Arabs. When the Lualaba rises to its full
amplitude, this hollow is flooded. The chief house of the southern
half of Nyangwé is the large and well-built clay _banda_ of Sheik
Abed bin Salim. In close neighborhood to this are the houses and
huts of those Arab Wangwana who prefer the company of Abed bin
Salim to Muini Dugumbi.
"Between the two foreign chiefs of Nyangwé there is great jealousy.
Each endeavors to be recognized by the natives as being the most
powerful. Dugumbi is an east-coast trader of Sa'adani, a
half-caste, a vulgar, coarse-minded old man of probably seventy
years of age, with a negroid nose and a negroid mind. Sheik Abed is
a tall, thin old man, white-bearded, patriarchal in aspect,
narrow-minded, rather peevish and quick to take offence, a thorough
believer in witchcraft, and a fervid Muslim.
"Close to Abed's elbows of late years has been the long-nosed young
Arab, Mohammed bin Sayid, superstitious beyond measure, of enormous
cunning and subtlety, a pertinacious beggar, of keen trading
instincts, but in all matters outside trade as simple as a child.
He offered, for a consideration and on condition that I would read
the Arabic Koran, to take me up and convey me to any part of Africa
within a day. By such unblushing falsehoods he has acquired
considerable influence over the mind of Sheik Abed. The latter told
me that he was half afraid of him, and that he believed Mohammed
was an extraordinary man. I asked the silly old sheik if he had
lent him any ivory. No; but he was constantly being asked for the
loan of ten frasilah (three hundred and fifty pounds) of ivory, for
which he was promised fifteen frasilah, or five hundred and
twenty-five pounds, within six months.
"Mohammed, during the very first day of my arrival, sent one of his
favorite slaves to ask first for a little writing-paper, then for
needles and thread, and, a couple of hours afterwards, for white
pepper and a bar of soap; in the evening, for a pound or two of
sugar and a little tea, and, if I could spare it, he would be much
obliged for some coffee. The next day petitions, each very prettily
worded--for Mohammed is an accomplished reader of the Koran--came,
first for medicine, then for a couple of yards of red cloth, then
for a few yards of fine white sheeting, etc. I became quite
interested in him--for was he not a lovable, genial character, as
he sat there chewing betel-nut and tobacco to excess, twinkling his
little eyes with such malicious humor in them that, while talking
with him, I could not withdraw mine from watching their quick
flashes of cunning, and surveying the long, thin nose, with its
impenetrable mystery and classic lines? I fear Mohammed did not
love me, but my admiration was excessive for Mohammed.
[Illustration: A BOWMAN.]
"'La il Allah--il Allah!' he was heard to say to Sheik Abed, 'that
old white man Daoud (Livingstone) never gave much to any man; this
white man gives _nothing_.' Certainly not, Mohammed. My admiration
is great for thee, my friend; but thou liest so that I am
disgusted with thee, and thou hast such a sweet, plausible,
villainous look in thy face, I could punch thee heartily.
"The next morning Muini (Lord) Dugumbi and following came--a gang
of veritable freebooters, chiefest of whom was the famous
Mtagamoyo--the butcher of women and fusillader of children.
Tippu-Tib, when I asked him, a few weeks after, what he thought of
Mtagamoyo, turned up his nose and said, 'He is brave, no doubt, but
he is a man whose heart is as big as the end of my little finger.
He has no feeling; he kills a native as though he were a
serpent--it matters not of what sex.'
"This man is about forty-four years of age, of middle stature and
swarthy complexion, with a broad face, black beard just graying,
and thin-lipped. He spoke but little, and that little courteously.
He did not appear very formidable, but he might be deadly,
nevertheless. The Arabs of Nyangwé regard him as their best
fighter.
"Dugumbi the patriarch, or, as he is called by the natives,
Molemba-Lemba, had the rollicking look of a prosperous and
coarse-minded old man, who was perfectly satisfied with the
material aspect of his condition. He deals in humor of the coarsest
kind--a vain, frivolous old fellow, ignorant of everything but the
art of collecting ivory, who has contrived to attach to himself a
host of nameless half-castes of inordinate pride, savage spirit,
and immeasurable greed.
[Illustration: CAMP SCENE.]
"The Arabs of Nyangwé, when they first heard of the arrival of
Tippu-Tib at Imbarri from the south, were anxious to count him as
their fellow-settler; but Tippu-Tib had no ambition to become the
chief citizen of a place which could boast of no better settlers
than vain old Dugumbi, the butcher Mtagamoyo, and silly Sheik Abed;
he therefore proceeded to Mwana Mamba's, where he found better
society with Mohammed bin Sayid, Sayid bin Sultan, Msé Ani, and
Sayid bin Mohammed el Mezrui. Sayid bin Sultan, in features, is a
rough copy of Abdul Aziz, late Sultan of Turkey.
[Illustration: AN ESCORT OF GUNNERS AND SPEARMEN.]
"One of the principal institutions at Nyangwé is the Kituka, or the
market, with the first of which I made acquaintance in 1871, in
Ujiji and Urundi. One day it is held in the open plaza in front of
Sheik Abed's house; on the next day in Dugumbi's section, half a
mile from the other; and on the third at the confluence of the
Kunda and the Lualaba; and so on in turn.
"In this market everything becomes vendible and purchasable, from
an ordinary earthenware pot to a slave. From one thousand to three
thousand natives gather here from across the Lualaba and from the
Kunda banks, from the islands up the river, and from the villages
of the Mitamba, or forest. Nearly all are clad in the fabrics of
Manyema, fine grass-cloths, which are beautifully colored and very
durable. The articles sold here for cowries, beads, copper and iron
wire, and lambas, or squares of palm-cloth,[9] represent the
productions of Manyema. I went round the market and made out the
following list:
[9] Made from the fibre of the _Raphia vinifera_ palm.
Sweet potatoes. Eggs. Basket-work.
Yams. Fowls. Cassava bread.
Maize. Black pigs. Cassava flour.
Sesamum. Goats. Copper bracelets.
Millet. Sheep. Iron wire.
Beans. Parrots. Iron knobs.
Cucumbers. Palm-wine (Malofu). Hoes.
Melons Pombé (beer). Spears.
Cassava. Mussels and oysters from Bows and arrows.
Ground-nuts. the river. Hatchets.
Bananas. Fresh fish. Rattan-cane staves.
Sugar-cane. Dried fish. Stools.
Pepper (in berries). Whitebait. Crockery.
Vegetables for broths. Snails (dried). Powdered camwood.
Wild fruit. Salt. Grass cloths.
Palm-butter. White ants. Grass mats.
Oil-palm nuts. Grasshoppers. Fuel.
Pineapples. Tobacco (dried leaf). Ivory.
Honey. Pipes. Slaves.
Fishing-nets.
"From this it will be perceived that the wants of Nyangwé are very
tolerably supplied. And how like any other market place it was!
with its noise and murmur of human voices. The same rivalry in
extolling their wares, the eager, quick action, the emphatic
gesture, the inquisitive look, the facial expressions of scorn and
triumph, anxiety, joy, plausibility, were all there. I discovered,
too, the surprising fact that the aborigines of Manyema possess
just the same inordinate ideas in respect to their wares as London,
Paris, and New York shopkeepers. Perhaps the Manyema people are not
so voluble, but they compensate for lack of language by gesture and
action, which are unspeakably eloquent.
[Illustration: SLAVE OFFERED IN THE MARKET.]
"During this month of the year the Lualaba reached its lowest
level. Our boat, the _Lady Alice_, after almost being rebuilt, was
launched in the river, and with sounding-line and sextant on board,
my crew and I, eager to test the boat on the gray-brown waters of
the great river, pushed off at 11 A.M., and rowed for an island
opposite, eight hundred yards distant, taking soundings as we went.
The soundings showed a mean depth of eighteen feet nine inches.
[Illustration: NYANGWÉ HEADS.]
"The easternmost island in mid-river is about one hundred yards
across at its widest part, and between it and another island is a
distance of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred yards. From
the second island to the low shore opposite Nyangwé is about two
hundred and fifty yards, and these channels have a slightly swifter
flow than the main river. The mean depth of the central channel was
twelve and a half feet, the westernmost eleven feet, and the entire
width of clear water flow was about thirteen hundred yards. During
the months of April, May, and June, and the early part of July, the
Lualaba is full, and overspreads the low lands westward for nearly
a mile and a half. The Lualaba then may be said to be from four
thousand to five thousand yards wide opposite Nyangwé.
"The Arabs, wherever they settle throughout Africa, endeavor to
introduce the seeds of the vegetables and fruit-trees which grow in
their beloved island of Zanzibar. At Unyanyembé, therefore, they
have planted papaws, sweet limes, mangoes, lemons, custard-apples,
pomegranates, and have sown wheat and rice in abundance. At Ujiji,
also, they have papaws, sweet limes, pomegranates, lemons, wheat,
rice, and onions. At Nyangwé their fruit consists of pineapples,
papaws, and pomegranates. They have succeeded admirably in their
rice, both at Nyangwé, Kasongo's, and Mwana Mamba's.
[Illustration: NYANGWÉ POTTERY.]
"The Wagenya, as the Arabs call them, or Wenya--pronounced
Wainya--as they style themselves, are a remarkable tribe of
fishers, who inhabit both banks of the Lualaba, from the confluence
of the Kamalondo, on the left bank, down to the sixth cataract of
the Stanley Falls, and on the right bank, from the confluence of
the Luama down to Ubwiré, or Usongora Meno.
"The Wenya were the aborigines of Nyangwé, when the advanced party
of Muini Dugumbi appeared on the scene--precursors of ruin, terror,
and depopulation, to the inhabitants of seven hundred square miles
of Manyema. Considering that the fertile open tract of country
between the Luama and Nyangwé was exceedingly populous, as the
ruins of scores of villages testify, sixty inhabitants to the
square mile would not be too great a proportion. The river border,
then, of Manyema, from the Luama to Nyangwé, may be said to have
had a population of forty-two thousand souls, of which there remain
probably only twenty thousand. The others have been deported, or
massacred, or have fled to the islands or emigrated down the river.
"Tippu-Tib arrived at Nyangwé on the 2d of November, with a much
larger force than I anticipated, for he had nearly seven hundred
people with him. However, he explained that he was about to send
some three hundred of them to a country called Tata, which lies to
the east of Usongora Meno.
[Illustration: MUINI DUJAMBI'S FOLLOWERS ATTACKING NYANGWÉ.]
"On the 4th of November the members of the expedition were
mustered, and we ascertained that they numbered one hundred and
fifty-four, and that we possessed the following arms: Sniders, 29;
percussion-lock muskets, 32; Winchesters, 2; double-barrelled guns,
2; revolvers, 10; axes, 68. Out of this number of sixty-four guns
only forty were borne by trustworthy men; the others were mere
pagazis, who would prefer becoming slaves to fighting for their
freedom and lives. At the same time they were valuable as
porters, and faithful to their allotted duties and their contract,
when not enticed away by outside influences or fear. The enormous
force that Tippu-Tib brought to Nyangwé quite encouraged them; and
when I asked them if they were ready to make good their promise to
me at Zanzibar and Muta Nzege Lake, they replied unanimously in the
affirmative.
"'Then to-night, my friends,' said I, 'you will pack up your goods,
and to-morrow morning, at the first hour, let me see you in line
before my house ready to start.'"
[Illustration: ANTELOPE OF THE NYANGWÉ REGION.]