The footman 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 little gold 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 the _chicotte_—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 only way 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 first is 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 innumerable trustworthy
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 ever _really_ realized 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 that lies 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.