FROM STANLEY POOL TO YAMBUYA.
Upper Congo scenery--Accident to the _Peace_--Steamers reach
Kimpoko--Collecting fuel--The good-for-nothing _Peace_--The
_Stanley_ in trouble--Arrival at Bolobo--The Relief Expedition
arranged in two columns--Major Barttelot and Mr. Jameson chosen for
command of Rear Column--Arrival at Equator and Bangala
Stations--The Basoko villages: Baruti deserts us--Arrival at
Yambuya.
As I have already expatiated at large upon the description of scenes of
the Upper Congo, I intend to expunge altogether any impressions made on
us according to our varying moods during our river voyage of about 1100
miles to Yambuya. I will confine myself to the incidents.
The days passed quickly enough. Their earlier hours presented to us every
morning panoramas of forest-land, and myriads of forest isles, and broad
channels of dead calm water so beshone by the sun that they resembled
rivers of quicksilver. In general one might well have said that they were
exceedingly monotonous, that is if the traveller was moving upward day by
day past the same scenes from such a distance as to lose perception of
the details. But we skirted one bank or the other, or steered close to an
island to avail ourselves of the deep water, and therefore were saved
from the tedium of the monotony.
Seated in an easy-chair scarcely 40 feet from the shore, every revolution
of the propeller caused us to see new features of foliage, bank, trees,
shrubs, plants, buds and blossoms. We might be indifferent to, or
ignorant of the character and virtues of the several plants and varied
vegetation we saw, we might have no interest in any portion of the
shore, but we certainly forgot the lapse of time while observing the
outward forms, and were often kindled into livelier interest whenever an
inhabitant of the air or of the water appeared in the field of vision.
These delightful views of perfectly calm waters, and vivid green forests
with every sprig and leaf still as death, and almost unbroken front line
of thick leafy bush sprinkled with butterflies and moths and insects, and
wide rivers of shining water, will remain longer in our minds than the
stormy aspects which disturbed the exquisite repose of nature almost
every afternoon.
[Illustration: STANLEY POOL.]
From the middle of March to the middle of May was the rainy season, and
daily, soon after 2 P.M., the sky betokened the approach of a lowering
tempest; the sun was hidden by the dark portents of storms, and soon
after the thunderbolts rent the gloom, lightning blazed through it, the
rain poured with tropical copiousness, and general misery prevailed and
the darkness of the night followed.
Nature and time were at their best for us. The river was neither too high
nor too low. Were it the former we should have had the difficulty of
finding uninundated ground; had it been the latter we should have been
tediously delayed by the shallows. We were permitted to steer generally
about 40 yards from the left bank, and to enjoy without interruption over
1000 miles of changing hues and forms of vegetable life, which for their
variety, greenness of verdure, and wealth and scent of flowers, the world
cannot equal. Tornadoes were rare during the greater portion of the day,
whereby we escaped many terrors and perils; they occurred in the evening
or the night oftener, when we should be safely moored to the shore.
Mosquitoes, gadflies, tsetse and gnats were not so vicious as formerly.
Far more than half the journey was completed before we were reminded of
their existence by a few incorrigible vagrants of each species. The
pugnacious hippopotami and crocodiles were on this occasion well-behaved.
The aborigines were modest in their expectations, and in many instances
they gave goats, fowls, and eggs, bananas and plantains, and were content
with "chits" on Mr. John Rose Troup, who would follow us later. Our
health was excellent, indeed remarkably good, compared with former
experiences; whether the English were better adapted physically, or
whether they declined to yield, I know not, but I had fewer complaints on
this than on any previous expedition.
On the 1st of May the start up the Congo was commenced with the departure
of the _Henry Reed_ and two barges, with Tippu-Tib and 96 followers and
35 of our men. Soon after her followed the _Stanley_ and her consort the
_Florida_, with 336 people, besides 6 donkeys, and cargoes of goods; and
half-an-hour later the _Peace_ attempted to follow, with 135 passengers
on board; but the good wishes of the people on shore had scarcely died
away, and we were breasting the rapid current, when her rudder snapped in
two. Her captain commanded the anchors to be dropped, which happened to
be over exceedingly rugged ground where the current was racing six knots.
The boat reeled to her beam ends, the chains tore her deck, and as the
anchors could not be lifted, being foul among the rocks below, we had to
cut ourselves loose and to return to Kinshassa landing-place. Captain
Whitley and Mr. David Charters the engineer set to to repair the rudder,
and at 8 P.M. their task was completed.
The next morning we had better fortune, and in due time we reached
Kimpoko at the head of the Pool, where the other steamers awaited us.
The _Peace_ led the advance up river on the 3rd; but the _Stanley_ drew
up, passed us, and reached camp an hour and a half ahead of us. The
_Henry Reed_ was last because of want of judgment on the part of her
captain.
The _Peace_ was spasmodic. She steamed well for a short time, then
suddenly slackened speed. We waited half an hour for another spurt. Her
boiler was a system of coiled tubes, and her propellers were enclosed in
twin cylindrical shells under the stern, and required to be driven at a
furious rate before any speed could be obtained. She will probably give
us great trouble.
As soon as we camped, which we generally did about 5 P.M., each officer
mustered his men, for wood cutting for the morrow's fuel. This was
sometimes very hard work, and continued for hours into the night. The
wood of dead trees required to be sought by a number of men and conveyed
to the landing-place for the cutters. For such a steamer as the _Stanley_
it would require fifty men to search for and carry wood for quite two
hours; it would require a dozen axemen to cut it up into 30-inch lengths
for the grates. The _Peace_ and _Henry Reed_ required half as many axes
and an equal amount of time to prepare their fuel. It must then be stored
on board the steamers that no delay might take place in the morning, and
this required some more work before silence, which befits the night,
could be obtained, and in the meantime the fires were blazing to afford
light, and the noise of crashing, cutting, and splitting of logs
continued merrily.
The good-for-nothing _Peace_ continued to provoke us on the 4th May. She
was certainly one of the slowest steamers any shipbuilder could build. We
halted every forty-five minutes or so to "oil up," and sometimes had to
halt to clear out the cylinders of the propellers, had to stop to raise
steam, to have the grate cleared out of charcoal, while five minutes
after raising steam up to 60°, she fell to 40°, and then 35°, and the
poor miserable thing floated down stream at the rate of a knot an hour.
We lost seven days at Stanley Pool through her; a day was lost when the
rudder broke; we were fated to be belated.
The next day, the 5th, we made fast to the landing-place of Mswata. The
Major and Dr. Parke had arrived four days previously. They had prepared
quantities of fuel, and had purchased a large pile of provisions--loaves
of bread from the manioc root and Indian corn.
On the 6th the Major and his companions received orders to march their
men to Kwamouth, and await the steamer. The _Stanley_ was ordered to
proceed to Bolobo, debark her passengers, and descend to Kwamouth to
convey Barttelot and men, while we reorganized companies at Bolobo.
On the 7th we observed the _Stanley_ steamer ashore on the left bank near
Chumbiri, and proceeding to her to inquire into the delay discovered that
she was badly injured by running on a rocky reef. The second section had
been pierced in four separate places and several rivets knocked out and
others loosened. We therefore set to with the engineers of all the other
steamers to repair her, but Messrs. Charters and Walker, both Scotchmen,
were the most effective at the repairs. We cut up some old sheet iron oil
drums, formed plates of them, and screwed them in from the outside. This
was a very delicate labour, requiring patience and nicety of touch, as
there were two feet of water in the hold, and the screws required to be
felt to place the nuts on, as well as the punching of holes through the
bottom of the steamer. The engineer was up to his waist in water, and
striking his chisel through an element that broke the blow, then there
was the preparation of the plate to correspond with the holes in the
steamer, spreading the minium, then a layer of canvas, and another layer
of minium. When everything was ready for fixing the iron plate, a diver
was sent down, the iron plate with its canvas patch and minium layers in
one hand, and the end of a string attached to a hole in the plate in the
other hand. The diver outside had to feel for the corresponding hole in
the steamer, and the engineer up to his hips in water within the hold
felt for the end of the twine, which when found, was drawn in gently, and
the plate carefully guided, or the bolt was slipped in, and the engineer
placed the nut on. For hours this tedious work went on, and by evening of
the 7th, one large rent in the steel hull had been repaired; the 8th and
9th were passed before the steamer was able to continue her voyage.
On the 10th the _Stanley_ caught the asthmatic _Peace_ up, and passed us
in company with the _Henry Reed_. A few hours later the _Peace_ sulked
altogether, and declined to proceed. Only 30 lbs. steam could be
maintained. We were therefore compelled to make fast to the shore. At
this period Mr. Charters' face possessed more interest than anything else
in the world. We hung on his words as though they were decrees of Fate.
He was a sanguine and cheerful little man, and he comforted us
exceedingly. He was sure we would arrive in Bolobo in good time, though
we did not appear to be proceeding very rapidly while tied to the shore.
The next day we tried again, starting at 4 A.M., resolved to distinguish
ourselves. For an hour the _Peace_ behaved nobly, but finally she showed
symptoms of relapse. The steam descended lower and lower, and could not
retain 5 lbs., and we therefore cast anchor. At 10 A.M. the case
appearing hopeless, I despatched Mr. Ward in the whale boat to obtain
assistance from the _Henry Reed_, and at eight at night she appeared and
anchored sixty yards from us, and all the day we had been idly watching
the dark brown current flow by, anchored in mid-stream at least 500 yards
from either shore or island, seeing nothing but hippopotami, grassy
clumps, weeds, and débris of woods floating by. On the 12th we arrived
ignominiously at Bolobo in tow of the _Henry Reed_.
When the traveller reaches Uyanzi such a thing as famine is scarcely
possible, and one of the best river ports for abundance and variety of
food is Bolobo. Here, then, after reaching a district where the people
could recuperate and forget the miseries of limited rations endured since
leaving Lukungu, was the place to form the Relief Expedition into two
columns.
It was decided that as the force could not be transported on one voyage
to the Upper Congo, that the healthiest men should be selected to proceed
to Yambuya, and that the weakly should remain in Bolobo as a portion of
Major Barttelot's column under Messrs. Herbert Ward, and William Bonny,
until the _Stanley_ should return from Yambuya. We had started from
England with the cry of "urgency" in our ears and memories, and it
behoved us to speed on as well as circumstances would permit in obedience
to the necessity, trusting that the rear column would be able to follow
on our tracks some six or seven weeks later.
We accordingly selected 125 men who appeared weakest in body, and left
them at Bolobo to fatten up on the bananas and excellent native bread and
fish that were easily procurable here. The _Stanley_ in the meantime had
descended to Kwamouth with Major Barttelot, Dr. Parke, and 153 men.
The vexed question was also settled here as to who should take charge of
the rear column. It being the most important post next to mine, all eyes
were naturally directed to the senior officer, Major Barttelot. It was
said that he had led a column of a thousand men from Kosseir on the Red
Sea to Keneh on the Nile, and that he had distinguished himself in
Afghanistan and in the Soudan Campaign. If these facts were true, then
undoubtedly he was the fittest officer for the office of commanding the
rear column. Had there been a person of equal rank with him, I should
certainly have delegated this charge to another, not because of any known
unfitness, but because he was so eager to accompany the advance column.
On reflecting on the capacities and rank of the other gentlemen, and
their eagerness being too well known to me, I informed the Major that I
could not really undertake the responsibility of appointing youthful
lieutenants to fill a post that devolved on him by rank, experience, and
reputation.
"One more steamer like the _Stanley_ would have done it, Major,
completely," I said, cheerfully, for the young officer was sorely
depressed. "Only 125 men and a cargo of goods left of the Expedition. All
the rest are on board comfortably. If you can discover some better person
than yourself to take your place between here and Yambuya, I would gladly
know him. I hope you will not take it too much to heart. For what does it
matter after all? You who bring up the rear are as much entitled to
credit as we in the advance. If Tippu-Tib will only be faithful, you will
only be six weeks behind us, and you may overtake us, for we shall be
naturally delayed a great deal, finding the track and boring our way
through all kinds of obstacles. You will follow an indicated path, and
frequently you may be able to make two of our marches in one day. If
Tippu-Tib does not join us, you will be master of your own column, and
you will be so occupied with your task that the days will slip by you
fast enough. And I tell you another thing for your comfort, Major; there
is plenty of work ahead of us, wherein you shall have the most important
part. Now tell me, who would you wish for your second?"
"Oh, I would rather leave it to you."
"Nay, I would prefer you would select some one friend as your companion,
to share your hopes and thoughts. We all of us have our partialities, you
know."
"Well, then, I choose Jameson."
"Very well, Mr. Jameson shall be appointed. I will speak to him myself. I
will then leave Mr. Rose Troup, who is a capital fellow, I have reason to
believe, and young Ward and Bonny. Both Troup and Ward speak Swahili, and
they will be of vast service to you."
In this manner the matter was arranged, and on the 15th of May the
flotilla resumed the up-river voyage, conveying 511 persons of the
Expedition, and Tippu-Tib and ninety of his followers.
We made a fair journey on the 16th, the repairs on the _Peace_ having
greatly improved her rate of progress, and on the 19th made fast to the
shore near the Baptist Mission of Lukolela, though the _Stanley_ did not
make her appearance until late on the 19th.
We halted on the 20th at Lukolela, to purchase food for our journey to
Equator Station, and we were extremely grateful for the kind hospitality
shown to us by the missionaries at this station.
On the 24th of May we arrived at Equator Station, now owned by the
Sanford Company, which was represented by Mr. E. J. Glave, a young and
clever Yorkshireman. Captain Van Gele was also here, with five Houssa
soldiers lately returned from a futile effort to ascend the Mobangi
higher than Mr. Grenfell, the missionary, had succeeded in doing some
months previously.
We reached Bangala Station on the 30th May. This place was now a very
large and prosperous settlement. There was a garrison of sixty men and
two Krupps, for defence. Bricks were made, of excellent quality; 40,000
had already been manufactured. The establishment was in every way very
creditable to Central Africa. The chief, Van Kirkhoven, was absent at
Langa-Langa. He had lately succeeded in releasing twenty-nine Houssa
soldiers from slavery. During the escape of Deane from Stanley Falls,
these Houssas had precipitately retreated into a canoe, and had floated
as far as Upoto when they were captured as runaways by the natives of the
district.
Among other good qualities of Bangala, there is a never-failing supply of
food. The station possessed 130 goats and a couple of hundred fowls,
which supplied the officers with fresh eggs. Ten acres were green with a
promising rice crop. The officers enjoyed wine of palm and banana, and
fermented beer made of sugar-cane, and exceedingly potent I found the
latter to be.
At Bangala I instructed Major Barttelot to proceed with Tippu-Tib and
party direct to Stanley Falls, having first taken out thirty-five
Zanzibaris from the boats, and replaced them with forty Soudanese, that
none of the Zanzibaris might become acquainted with the fact that Stanley
Falls was but a few days' march from Yambuya.
With the exception of certain irregularities in the behaviour of the
steamer _Stanley_, which by some mysterious manoeuvres disappeared amid
intricate passages, on the plea that sufficient fuel of a right quality
could be found, we steamed up to the Aruwimi River without any incident,
and arrived at our ancient camp, opposite the Basoko villages, on June
12th.
The Basoko were the countrymen of Baruti, or "Gunpowder," who had been
captured by Karema when a child, in 1883, and had been taken to England
by Sir Francis de Winton, with a view of impressing on him the
superiority of civilized customs. From Sir Francis' care Baruti passed
into mine, and here we were at last in view of his natal village and
tribe, from which he had been absent six years.
Seeing Baruti eyeing with excessive interest the place of his birth, he
was encouraged by me to hail the Basoko, and invite them to visit us. My
previous attempts at winning the confidence of these forest natives had
been failures, though in time I was sure there would be no difficulty.
For a long period it had been an interesting question to me why
aborigines of the forest were more intractable and coy than natives of
the open country. The same methods had been applied, the dangling of some
bright or gaudy article of barter, the strings of beads of dazzling
colour, suspended patiently, the artful speech, the alluring smile and
gesture, all were resorted to for long hours, but always ending with
disappointment and postponement to a more leisurely occasion. But the
reason is that the forest has been always a handy fastness for retreat,
the suspicion of the stranger, and the convenient depth of trackless
woods plead strongly against some indefinite risk. The least advance
causes a precipitate backward movement until he gains the limits of the
forest, and then he stands to take a last survey, and finally disappears
into the gloom with an air of "It won't do, you know; you can't come
over me." Whereas in the open country the native has generally some coign
of vantage, some eminence, a tree or an ant-hill, from the crest of which
he has taken his observations, and been warned and informed of the
character of the strangers, in the forest the stranger meets the tenant
of the woods abruptly; he has advanced out of the unknown, with purpose
unfathomed. Surprise is in the face of one, terror marks the face of the
other.
[Illustration: BARUTI FINDS HIS BROTHER.]
Baruti hailed, and the canoes advanced towards us with a tediously slow
process, but finally they approached within easy hearing. He recognized
some of the canoemen, and informed them that they had no cause for fear.
He asked for a person whose name he uttered, and the wild men hallooed
the word with splendid lung-power across the river, until some one
responded, and embarked in a canoe and approached. This turned out to be
Baruti's elder brother. Baruti demanded to know how his brother fared,
after so many year of absence. The brother eyed him vacantly, could not
recognize any feature in him, and grunted his doubt.
Baruti mentioned the name of his parents, that of his father, and
afterwards that of his mother. Great interest now manifested itself in
his brother's face, and he skilfully drew his canoe nearer.
"If you are my brother, tell me some incident, that I may know you."
"Thou hast a scar on thy arm--there, on the right. Dost thou not remember
the crocodile?"
This was enough; the young, broad-chested native gave a shout of joy, and
roared out the discovery to his countrymen on the further bank, and
Baruti for the first time shed tears. The young fellow drew near to the
ship, forgot his fears of the strangers, and gave Baruti a frantic hug,
and the other canoes advanced to participate in the joy of the two
restored brothers.
In the evening Baruti was offered his choice of staying in his village
among his tribe, or of following our adventures; at the same time he was
advised not to leave us, as life among the Basoko would be very insecure
with the Arabs in such close proximity as Stanley Falls.
The lad appeared to think so too, and so declined to be restored to his
native land and tribe; but a day or two after reaching Yambuya he altered
his mind, came into my tent in the dead of night, armed himself with my
Winchester rifle and a brace of Smith and Wesson revolvers, a supply of
rifle and revolver cartridges, took possession of a silver road-watch, a
silver pedometer, a handsome belt with fitted pouches, a small sum of
money, and, possessing himself of a canoe, disappeared down river to some
parts unknown, most probably to his tribe. At any rate, we have never
seen or heard of him since. Peace be with him!
On the 15th of June we arrived opposite Yambuya villages, situated on the
left bank of the Aruwimi, 96 miles above the confluence of the Aruwimi
and the Congo.