THE MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA.
Our camp at Bundi--Mbiassi, the chief of Kavalli--The Balegga
granaries--Chiefs Katonza and Komubi express contrition--The kites
at Badzwa--A note from Jephson--Emin, Casati and Jephson walk into
our camp at old Kavalli--Descriptions of Emin Pasha and Captain
Casati--The Pasha's Soudanese--Our Zanzibaris--The steamer
_Khedive_--Baker and the Blue Mountains--Drs. Junker and Felkin's
descriptions of Emin--Proximity of Kabba Rega--Emin and the
Equatorial Provinces--Dr. Junker's report of Emin--I discuss with
Emin our future proceedings--Captain Casati's plans--Our camp and
provisions at Nsabé--Kabba Rega's treatment of Captain Casati and
Mohammed Biri--Mabruki gored by a buffalo--Emin Pasha and his
soldiers--My propositions to Emin and his answer--Emin's
position--Mahommet Achmet--The Congo State--The Foreign Office
despatches.
On the 25th we departed from Kavalli and camped at Bundi, at an altitude
of 4,900 feet above the sea. The village proper was situated 400 feet
higher, on the crest of one of those ranges of hills which form the
dividing-line between the Congo basin and that of the Nile. From its
folds westerly escaped the first infant streams which flowed into East
Ituri. On the other side of the narrow rocky spine issued streams which
dropped into the gulf of the Albert. Our camp was situated on the very
brow of the plateau, in full view of a large portion of the south end of
the Albert.
Mbiassi, the handsome chief of Kavalli, accompanied us to do the honours
of his tribe to his guests. He commanded the people of Bundi to hurry
forward an ample contribution to the camp, and also despatched messengers
to the redoubtable Komubi, chief of the Eastern Balegga, who seemed to be
considered by these stubborn foes of Kabba Rega as their "Only General,"
with a message not to lag behind in supplying with food a man, who might
be induced to lend his aid in punishing Kabba Rega some day. Mbiassi,
commonly called Kavalli by his people, after his district, was a
diplomat.
On the 26th we descended the plateau slope once more in 2 hours 45
minutes--and at the foot of it we were quartered in the Balegga village
of Badzwa, 2,300 feet below Bundi camp. The Balegga had decamped, but as
it was Kavalli's property, he assumed charge, and distributed corn from
its granaries, according to the needs of our united followers, sufficient
for five days' rations.
Messengers from Katonza, the chief who had declined our friendship on
December 14th, who had refused our proffered gifts, who had sent his men
to throw arrows into our bivouac of the 16th, and murdered our two sick
men, came to say that he was "dying" to see me. He had now heard that
Mazamboni, Gavira, Kavalli, and many others were hand-and-glove with the
strangers who had humbly begged a drink of water from his people, and he
had hastened to make reparation, like Shimei the Benjamite. Before I
could frame an answer, stalwart Komubi, the "only general," had descended
from the Balegga Hills with a white cow, several goats, and bundles of
sweet potatoes, besides many jars of potent beer. It was Komubi and his
stubborn fellows who had clung to the rear guard on the 13th December
with such persistency, and had attempted a night attack. He now frankly
came to express contrition and sorrow that he had mistaken us for Kabba
Rega's bandits, and to surrender his country wholly into my hands, and
his life, if I so wished it. With this bold chieftain we made friends
quickly enough, and after a lengthy interview parted. To Katonza we
replied that we would think of his message.
I now turn to the diary form.
_August 27th._--Halt at Badzwa. The kites are very bold in this
neighbourhood. Seeing their daring, we amused ourselves with putting
pieces of meat on the roof of a hut within arm's length of a man
standing by, and each time the kite succeeded in escaping with the meat,
as the bird, sailing and wheeling round the spot, seemed to know when the
attention was relaxed, and that moment dropped plump upon the meat, and
sailed away with it fast gripped before the outstretched hand could seize
him.
Our hunter, "Three o'clock," went out, and returned with the meat of a
fine kudu he had shot.
_April 28th._--Halt. Wadi Mabruki, another hunter, went out this morning
to compete at game-hunting with "Three o'clock," and in the afternoon he
and his followers brought three young roan antelope.
_April 29th._--At 8 A.M., as we were about to break camp to march to the
Lake, a native guide appeared with a note from Jephson, dated April 23rd,
which stated that he had safely reached Mswa, a station of Emin Pasha's,
and that messengers had been despatched by the Commandant, Shukri Agha,
to apprise Emin Pasha of our appearance on the lake. A basket of
onions--a gift from Shukri Agha--accompanied the note.
At 9 A.M. we set out for the Lake. Two hours later we were camped about a
quarter of a mile from the shore, not far from the bivouac ground
occupied by us on the 16th December, and on the site of old Kavalli, as
the chief showed us. We had five days' rations of grain with us, and meat
could be procured from the plain behind us, as it swarmed with large game
of various kinds.
From my tent-door, at 4.30 P.M., I saw a dark object loom up on the
north-east horizon of the lake. I thought it might be a native canoe, or
perhaps the steel boat _Advance_ returning, but a binocular revealed the
dimensions of a vessel much larger than a boat or canoe could possibly
be, and presently a dark puff of smoke issuing from it declared her to be
a steamer. An hour later we could distinguish a couple of boats in tow,
and at 6.30 P.M. the steamer dropped anchor in the baylet of Nyamsassi,
in shore of the island of that name. Scores of our people were on the
beach in front of our camp firing guns, and waving signals, but though
we were only two miles from the island, no one appeared to observe us.
Ardent messengers were therefore sent along the shore to inform the party
on board of our presence, and these were, unhappily, so exuberant, that
as they fired their rifles to give notice, they were fired at in return
by the Soudanese, who naturally enough took the wild figures for Kabba
Rega's people. However, no harm was done; the boat's crew distinguished
their comrades' cries, the word was passed that the people on shore were
friends, and the boat was made ready to convey our visitors to the beach
near the camp. At eight o'clock, amid great rejoicing, and after repeated
salutes from rifles, Emin Pasha himself walked into camp accompanied by
Captain Casati and Mr. Jephson, and one of the Pasha's officers. I shook
hands with all, and asked which was Emin Pasha? Then one rather small,
slight figure, wearing glasses, arrested my attention by saying in
excellent English, "I owe you a thousand thanks, Mr. Stanley; I really do
not know how to express my thanks to you."
"Ah, you are Emin Pasha. Do not mention thanks, but come in and sit down.
It is so dark out here we cannot see one another."
At the door of the tent we sat, and a wax candle threw light upon the
scene. I expected to see a tall thin military-looking figure, in faded
Egyptian uniform, but instead of it I saw a small spare figure in a
well-kept fez and a clean suit of snowy cotton drilling, well-ironed and
perfect fit. A dark grizzled beard bordered a face of a Magyar cast,
though a pair of spectacles lent it somewhat an Italian or Spanish
appearance. There was not a trace on it of ill-health or anxiety; it
rather indicated good condition of body and peace of mind. Captain
Casati, on the other hand, though younger in years, looked gaunt,
care-worn, anxious, and aged. He likewise dressed in clean cottons, with
an Egyptian fez for a head-covering.
[Illustration: EMIN AND CASATI ARRIVE AT OUR LAKE SHORE CAMP.]
Brief summaries of our incidents of travel, events in Europe, occurrences
in the Equatorial Provinces and matters personal, occupied the best part
of two hours, after which, to terminate the happy meeting, five half-pint
bottles of champagne--a present from my friend Greshoff, of Stanley
Pool--were uncorked and duly drank to the continued good healths of Emin
Pasha and Captain Casati.[M]
The party were conducted to the boat, which conveyed them to the
steamer.
_April 30th._--Marched Expedition to Nsabé, a fine dry grassy spot, fifty
yards from Lake and about three miles from Nyamsassi Island. As we passed
the anchorage of the steamer _Khedive_, we found a detachment of the
Pasha's Soudanese drawn up on the Lake shore on parade to salute us with
music. The Pasha was dressed in his uniform coat, and appeared more of a
military man than last night.
Our Zanzibaris, by the side of these upright figures, seemed altogether a
beggarly troop, and more naked than ever. But I was not ashamed of them.
It was by their aid, mean as they appeared, that we had triumphed over
countless difficulties, and though they did not understand drill, nor
could assume a martial pose, the best of these Soudanese soldiers were
but children to them for the needs of a Relief Expedition. After this
little ceremony was over I delivered to the Pasha thirty-one cases of
Remington ammunition, and I went aboard the steamer, where I breakfasted
on millet cake fried in syrup, and a glass of new milk.
The steamer proved to be the _Khedive_, built by Samuda Brothers in 1869,
and is about ninety feet long by seventeen or eighteen feet wide; draught
five feet. Though nearly twenty years old, she is still serviceable
though slow. The upper works look well enough, but she is much patched
below water, I am told.
On board, besides the Pasha, were Casati, Vita Hassan, a Tunisian
apothecary, some Egyptian clerks, an Egyptian lieutenant, and some forty
Soudanese soldiers, besides a fine crew. Sometimes, from the familiar
sounds heard during moments of abstraction, I fancied myself at
Alexandria or on the Lower Congo; but, looking up, and taking a sweeping
view around, I became assured that I was on board of a steamer afloat on
Lake Albert. As we move slowly about a mile and a half from the shore
northward, the lofty mass of the plateau of Unyoro is to our right, and
to our left is an equally formidable plateau wall, the ascents and
descents of which we know so well. By a glance at the mass of Unyoro,
which is darkly blue, I see the reason Baker gave the name of Blue
Mountains to our plateau wall, for were we steaming along the Unyoro
shore the warm vapour would tint our plateau wall of similar colour. When
we have left Nyamsassi Island astern, a damp sheet of rock, wetted by the
stream we crossed yesterday in our descent, glistens in the sun like a
mirror, and makes it resemble a clear falling sheet of water. Hence Baker
gave it the name of a Cascade, as seen by him from the eastern side.
Dr. Junker and Dr. Felkin, especially in the _Graphic_ numbers of
January, 1887, made us expect a nervous, wiry, tall man of six feet, or
thereabouts, but in reality Emin Pasha does not exceed 5 feet 7 inches in
height. I remember that the former was anxious that the trousers ordered
in Cairo for his friend should be long enough in the extremities. About
six inches were cut off the legs before they fitted. He tells me he is
forty-eight years old. In appearance he does not indicate such an age;
his beard is dark almost to blackness, while his activity would befit a
man of thirty or thirty-five.
The Pasha tells me that he has visited Monbuttu, but, like the travellers
Schweinfürth, Casati, Piaggia, and Junker, he has not made any
astronomical observations, but confined himself solely to the compass
survey. The meteorology of this climate, however, has received greater
attention, as might be expected from his methodical habitude of mind.
About noon we anchored off Nsabé, and I went ashore to bestir the men to
make a respectable camp suitable for a protracted halt in a country that
we might well call dangerous owing to the proximity of Kabba Rega. That
king, having thrown down the gage of battle to Emin Pasha, might fancy
himself strong enough, with his 1,500 rifles, to test our strength; or
the Waganda, during their raids, might hear of our vicinity and be
tempted by expected booty to make a visit to us.
This evening Emin Pasha came ashore, and we had a lengthy conversation,
but after all I am unable to gather in the least what his intentions may
be. I have delivered to him his mails, the Khedive's "High Order," and
Nubar Pasha's letter.
I had an idea that I might have to wait about two weeks, when we would
all march to the plateau and occupy a suitable spot in Undusuma, where,
after seeing everything done for complete security and comfort, I could
leave him to return to the assistance of the rear column. On being
re-united we could resume our march within a few days for Zanzibar; but
the Pasha's manner is ominous. When I propose a return to the sea to him,
he has the habit of tapping his knee, and smiling in a kind of "We shall
see" manner. It is evident he finds it difficult to renounce his position
in a country where he has performed viceregal functions.
After laying before him at some length the reasons of the abandonment of
the Equatorial Provinces by Egypt he replied, "I see clearly the
difficulty Egypt is in as regards retention of these provinces, but I do
not see so clearly my way of returning. The Khedive has written to me
that the pay of myself, officers and men will be settled by the Paymaster
General if we return to Egypt, but if we stay here we do so at our own
risk and on our own responsibility, and that we cannot expect further aid
from Egypt. Nubar Pasha has written to me a longer letter, but to the
same effect. Now, I do not call these instructions. They do not tell me
that I must quit, but they leave me a free agent."
"Well, I will supplement these letters with my own positive knowledge, if
you will permit me, as the Khedive and Nubar Pasha are not here to
answer for themselves. Dr. Junker arrived in Egypt telling the world that
you were in great distress for want of ammunition, but that you had a
sufficient quantity to defend your position for a year or perhaps
eighteen months, providing no determined attack was made on you, and you
were not called upon to make a prolonged resistance; that you had
defended the Equatorial Provinces so far successfully; that you would
continue to do so to the utmost of your ability, until you should receive
orders from your Government to do otherwise; that you loved the country
and people greatly; that the country was in a prosperous state--quiet and
contented--possessed of almost everything required to maintain it in this
happy condition; that you would not like to see all your work thrown
away, but that you would much prefer that Egypt should retain these
provinces, or failing Egypt, some European Power able and willing to
continue your work. Did Dr. Junker report you correctly, Pasha?"
"Yes, he did."
"Well, then, the first idea that occurred to the minds of the Egyptian
officials upon hearing Dr. Junker's report was, that no matter what
instructions you received, you would be disinclined to leave your
provinces, therefore the Khedive says that if you remain here, you do so
upon your own responsibility, and at your own risk, and you are not to
expect further aid from Egypt.
"Our instructions are to carry a certain quantity of ammunition to you,
and say to you, upon your obtaining it, 'Now we are ready to guide and
assist you out of Africa, if you are willing to accompany us, and we
shall be delighted to have the pleasure of your company; but if you
decline going, our mission is ended.'
"Let us suppose the latter, that you prefer remaining in Africa. Well,
you are still young, only forty-eight; your constitution is still good.
Let us say you will feel the same vigour for five, ten, even fifteen
years longer; but the infirmities of age will creep on you, and your
strength will fade away. Then you will begin to look doubtingly upon the
future prospect, and mayhap suddenly resolve to retire before it is too
late. Some route will be chosen--the Monbuttu route, for instance--to the
sea. Say that you reach the Congo, and are nearing civilization; how will
you maintain your people, for food must then be bought for money or
goods? And supposing you reach the sea, what will you do then? Who will
assist you to convey your people to their homes? You rejected Egypt's
help when it was offered to you, and, to quote the words of the Khedive,
'You are not to expect further aid from Egypt.'
"If you stay here during life, what becomes of the provinces afterwards?
Your men will fight among themselves for supremacy, and involve all in
one common ruin. These are grave questions, not to be hastily answered.
If your provinces were situated within reasonable reach of the sea,
whence you could be furnished with means to maintain your position, I
should be one of the last to advise you to accept the Khedive's offer,
and should be most active in assisting you with suggestions as to the
means of maintenance; but here, surrounded as this lake is by powerful
kings and warlike peoples on all sides, by such a vast forest on the
west, and by the fanatic followers of the Mahdi on the north, were I in
your place, I would not hesitate one moment what to do."
"What you say is quite true," replied the Pasha, "but we have such a
large number of women and children, probably 10,000 people altogether!
How can they all be brought out of here? We shall want a great many
carriers."
"Carriers for what?"
"For the women and children. You surely would not leave them, and they
cannot travel."
"The women must walk; for such children as cannot walk, they will be
carried on donkeys, of which you say you have many. Your people cannot
travel far during the first month, but little by little they will get
accustomed to it. Our women on my second expedition crossed Africa; your
women, after a little while, will do quite as well."
"They will require a vast amount of provisions for the road."
"Well, you have a large number of cattle, some hundreds, I believe. Those
will furnish beef. The countries through which we pass must furnish grain
and vegetable food. And when we come to countries that will accept pay
for food, we have means to pay for it, and at Msalala we have another
stock of goods ready for the journey to the coast."
"Well, well. We will defer further talk of it till to-morrow."
_May 1st_.--Halt at Nsabé.
About 11 a.m. Emin Pasha came ashore, and upon being seated we resumed in
a short time our conversation of last evening.
"What you told me last night," began the Pasha, "has led me to think that
it is best we should retire from Africa. The Egyptians are very willing
to go I know. There are about fifty men of them besides women and
children. Of those there is no doubt, and even if I stayed here I should
be glad to be rid of them, because they undermine my authority, and
nullify all my endeavours for retreat. When I informed them that Khartoum
had fallen and Gordon Pasha was slain they always told the Nubians that
the story was concocted by me, and that some day we should see the
steamers ascend the river for their relief. But of the Regulars, who
compose two battalions I am extremely doubtful. They have led such a free
and happy life here, that they would demur at leaving a country where
they enjoy luxuries such as they cannot hope for in Egypt. They are
married, and besides, each soldier has his harem; most of the Irregulars
would doubtless retire and follow me. Now supposing the Regulars refused
to leave, you can imagine my position would be a difficult one. Would I
be right in leaving them to their fate? Would it not be consigning them
all to ruin? I should have to leave them their arms and ammunition, and
on my retiring all recognized authority and discipline would be at an
end. There would would presently rise disputes and factions would be
formed. The more ambitious would aspire to be chiefs by force, and from
rivalries would spring hate and mutual slaughter, involving all in one
common fate."
"It is a terrible picture you have drawn, Pasha," I said. "Nevertheless,
bred as I have been to obey orders, no matter what may happen to others,
the line of your duty, as a faithful officer to the Khedive, seems to me
to be clear."
"All you have to do, according to my idea, is to read the Khedive's
letter to your troops, and ask those willing to depart with you to stand
on one side, and those preferring to remain to stand on the other, and
prepare the first for immediate departure, while to the latter you can
leave what ammunition and guns you can spare. If those who remain number
three-fourths or four-fifths of your force, it does not at all matter to
any one what becomes of them, for it is their own choice, nor does it
absolve you personally from the line of conduct duty to the Khedive
directs."
"That is very true," replied the Pasha; "but supposing the men surround
me and detain me by force?"
"That is unlikely, I should think, from the state of discipline I see
among your men; but of course you know your own men best."
"Well, I shall send the steamer down to-morrow with the Khedive's letter,
and you would oblige me greatly if you would allow one of your officers
to go and show himself to the troops at Dufflé. Let him speak to the men
himself, and say that he has come from the representative of the
Government, who has been specially sent by the Khedive to bring them out,
and perhaps when they have seen him, and talked with your Soudanese, they
will be willing to depart with us. If the people go, I go; if they stay,
I stay."
"Now supposing you resolve to stay, what of the Egyptians?"
"Oh, those I shall have to ask you to take charge of."
"Now will you be good enough to ask Captain Casati if we are to have the
pleasure of his company to the coast, for we have been instructed to lend
him every assistance in our power?"
Captain Casati answered through Emin Pasha.
"If the Governor Emin goes, I go; if he stays, I stay."
"Well, I see, Pasha, that in the event of your staying your
responsibilities will be great, for you involve Captain Casati in your
own fate."
(A laugh), and the sentence was translated to Casati, and the gallant
Captain at once replied.
"Oh, I absolve Emin Pasha from all responsibility connected with me, for
I am governed by my own choice entirely."
"May I suggest then, Pasha, if you elect to remain here, that you make
your will?"
"Will! What for?"
"To dispose of your pay of course, which must by this time be
considerable. Eight years I believe you said? Or perhaps you meditate
leaving it to Nubar Pasha?"
"I give Nubar Pasha my love. Pho! There can be only about two thousand
and odd pounds due. What is such a sum to a man about to be shelved? I am
now forty-eight and one of my eyes is utterly gone. When I get to Egypt
they will give me some fine words and bow me out. And all I have to do is
to seek out some corner of Cairo or Stamboul for a final resting-place. A
fine prospect truly!"
In the afternoon Emin Pasha came again to my tent, and during our
conversation he said that he had resolved to leave Africa--"if his people
were willing; if not, he would stay with them."
I learned also that the Egyptians were only too willing to leave for
their mother-land, and that there were about sixty-five of them. That the
first battalion of Regulars numbered a little over 650, and that the
second battalion amounted to nearly 800. That he had about 750 Remington
rifles, and that the rest were armed with percussion muskets.
_May 2nd._--The _Khedive_ steamer left this morning for the northward,
first to Mswa Station, thence to Tunguru, fourteen and a half hours'
steaming from hence; two days later she will sail for Wadelai, the third
day for Dufflé. She carries letters from the Pasha to bring up sixty or
seventy soldiers, a Major, and as many carriers as can be mustered. She
will probably be fourteen days absent. In the meantime we await here her
return.
I omitted to state before that the Pasha brought with him, according to
my letter, a few bullocks and milk cows, about forty sheep and goats, and
as many fowls, besides several thousand pounds of grain, as rations to
subsist the Expedition pending the time we should remain on the Nyanza,
as the shore in the neighbourhood of Nsabé is entirely destitute of food
except what may be obtained by hunting. With care we have quite three
weeks' provisions on hand.
Meanwhile the Pasha remains here with Captain Casati and about twenty
soldiers, and is camped about 300 yards south of us. He and his people
are comfortably hutted. There is every prospect of a perfect rest free
from anxiety for some two weeks, while myself and officers will have the
society of a most amiable and accomplished man in the Pasha. Casati does
not understand English, and his French is worse than my own, so I am
excluded from conversing with him. I learn from the Pasha, however, that
Casati has had a difficult time of it in Unyoro. Until December last,
things progressed tolerably well with him. Residing in Unyoro as Emin
Pasha's Agent, he was the means of forwarding the Pasha's letter to
Uganda, and transmitting such packets of letters, books, medicines, etc.,
that Mr. Mackay, Church Missionary Agent, could spare.
Then from Uganda there came suddenly news to Kabba Rega of our
Expedition, whose force rumour had augmented to thousands of
well-appointed soldiers, who intended to unite with the Pasha's force,
and sweep through Unyoro and Uganda devastating every land; and
presently a packet of letters for myself and officers was put in Kabba
Rega's hands, confirming in a measure the truth of this report. An
officer was sent to Casati's house, and the Wanyoro pillaged him of every
article, and bound him and his servants to a tree, besides treating him
personally with every mark of indignity. Mohammed Biri, an Arab, who had
been mainly the medium of communication between Casati and Mr. Mackay,
was, I am told, treated in a worse fashion--probably executed as a spy
and traitor. Captain Casati and his personal servants, after a while were
led out from Unyoro, by Kabba Rega's officials, and when beyond the
frontier were tied to trees again in a nude state. By some means,
however, they managed to untie themselves and escape to the neighbourhood
of the Lake, where one of the servants discovered a canoe and set out for
the western shore across the Lake to Tunguru to obtain help from Emin
Pasha. One of the Pasha's steamers came across the daring fellow, and the
captain on hearing the news, after supplying his vessel with fuel,
steamed away to acquaint the Pasha. In a few hours the _Khedive_ steamer
was under way, commanded by the Governor in person, who had a detachment
of soldiers with him. After searching for some time the eastern shore, as
directed by Casati's servant, the steamer was hailed from shore by
Casati, who in a few moments found himself safe in the arms of his
friend. Some soldiers were sent on shore, and Kibero was burnt in
retaliation for the injuries done to his agent. Of course, Casati, having
been turned out naked into the wilderness, lost all his personal
property, journals and memoirs, and with these our letters.
The Captain placed a way-bill in my hand, wherein I learn that postal
carriers left Zanzibar on the 27th July, just one month after we had left
Yambuya, so that our letters were duly received at Msalala on the 11th
September, and arrived at the Church Missionary Station in Uganda,
November 1st; and that Captain Casati received six packets of letters on
the 1st December, just twelve days before we arrived on the western
shore of the Nyanza. As he was expelled on the 13th February, 1888,
according to his account our mails seem to have long lain on his hands,
probably no means having been presented of sending them to the Pasha.
This morning 3 o'clock (Saat Tato) the hunter set out to shoot game for
the camp, accompanied by a few young fellows anxious to participate in
the sport. Two buffalo fell victims to the hunter's unerring aim, but a
third one, wounded only in the leg, according to the cunning instinct of
the beast, rushed away, and making a circle hid himself in some branchy
acacias to await his opponent. Mabruki, the son of Kassin, thought he
knew the art of buffalo hunting, and set out on the tracks of the wounded
animal. The buffalo on the alert no sooner discovered his enemy, than
uttering a hoarse bellows charged and tossed him, one of his horns
entering the thigh of the unhappy man. While thus prostrate, he was
pounded with the head, gored in the side, arms, and ripped in the body,
until Saat Tato, hearing the screams, rushed to the rescue when almost
too late, and planting a shot in the buffalo's head, rolled him over,
dead. A young man hurried to camp to acquaint us with the sad accident.
"Three o'clock" set out again, and shot four fine buck roan antelope.
While Mabruki was being borne, shockingly mangled, in a cot to our camp,
a strong detachment of men were bearing the remains of three buffaloes,
and four roan antelopes to serve as provisions for a people already
gorged with beef and grain, but, strange to say, there was as much eager
clamour and loud demand for their due share as if the men were famished.
On the night of April 30th a strong gale blew nearly all night, and the
Pasha signalled to the _Khedive_ to drop two anchors. As there was good
holding ground the steamer rode the gale safely. Since then we have had
several strong squalls accompanied with rain day and night.
_May 3rd_.--Nsabé Camp.
Kavalli's people, like good subjects to their absent prince, came to
visit him to-day, bringing with them ten baskets of potatoes, which were
kindly distributed between us and Emin Pasha.
During a long conversation this afternoon Emin Pasha stated, "I feel
convinced that my people will never go to Egypt. But Mr. Jephson and the
Soudanese whom you are kind enough to leave with me will have an
opportunity to see and hear for themselves. And I would wish you would
write out a proclamation or message which may be read to the soldiers, in
which you will state what your instructions are, and say that you await
their declaration. From what I know of them I feel sure they will never
go to Egypt. The Egyptians, of course, will go, but they are few in
number, and certainly of no use to me or to any one else."
This has been the most definite answer I have received yet. I have been
awaiting a positive declaration of this kind before venturing upon any
further proposition to him. Now, to fulfil my promise to various parties,
though they appear somewhat conflicting, I have two other propositions to
make. My first duty is to the Khedive, of course; and I should be glad to
find the Pasha conformable, as an obedient officer who kept his post so
gallantly until ordered to withdraw. By this course he would realize the
ideal Governor his letters created in my mind. Nevertheless, he has but
to speak positively to induce me to assist him in any way to the best of
my power.
"Very well," I said; "and now pray listen, Pasha, to two other
propositions I have the honour of making to you from parties who would be
glad to avail themselves of your services. Added to that which comes from
His Highness the Khedive, these two will make three, and I would suggest
that, as there appears to be abundant time before you, that you examine
each on its merits and elect for yourself.
"Let me repeat them. The first proposition is that you still continue to
be an obedient soldier and accompany me to Egypt. On arrival, yourself,
your officers and men, will receive your pay up to date. Whether you will
be employed by the Government in active service I do not know; I should
think you would. Officers of your kind are rare, and Egypt has a frontier
where such services as you could render would be valuable. In answer to
this proposition you, however, say that you feel convinced your men will
not depart from here, and that in the event of a declaration to that
effect being given by them that you will remain with them.
"Now, my second proposition to you comes from Leopold, King of the
Belgians. He has requested me to inform you that in order to prevent the
lapse of the Equatorial Provinces to barbarism, and provided they can
yield a reasonable revenue, the Congo State might undertake the
government of them if it could be done by an expenditure of about £10,000
or £12,000 per annum; and further, that his Majesty King Leopold was
willing to pay a sufficient salary to you--£1,500 as Governor, with the
rank of General--in the belief that such employment agrees with your own
inclination. Your duty would be to keep open the communications between
the Nile and Congo, and to maintain law and order in the Equatorial
Provinces.
"My third proposition is: If you are convinced that your people will
positively decline the Khedive's offer to return to Egypt, that you
accompany me with such soldiers as are loyal to you to the north-east
corner of Victoria Nyanza, and permit me to establish you there in the
name of the East African Association. We will assist you to build your
fort in a locality suitable to the aims of such an association, leave our
boat and such things as would be necessary for your purpose with you, and
then hasten home across the Masai Land, lay the matter before the East
African Association, and obtain its sanction for the act, as well as its
assistance to establish you permanently in Africa. I must explain to you
that I have no authority to make this last proposition, that it issues
from my own goodwill to you, and with an earnest desire to save you and
your men from the consequences of your determination to remain here. But
I feel assured that I can obtain its hearty approval and co-operation,
and that the Association will readily appreciate the value of a trained
battalion or two in their new acquisition, and the services of such an
administrator as yourself.
"Pray, grant me a patient hearing for a moment or two while I explain
definitely to you your position here. The whole system of Egyptian
extension up to the Albert Nyanza was wrong. In theory it was beautiful,
and it was natural. What more natural than that the Government
established at the mouth of a river should desire to extend its authority
up along the banks to its source, and such a source as the Nile has.
Unhappily, however, it was an Egyptian Government, which, however honest
in its intentions, could only depend upon officials of the lowest moral
quality and mental calibibre. It is true the chief official in these
regions has been a Baker, or a Gordon, or an Emin, but all the
subordinates were Egyptians or Turks. As you multiplied your stations and
increased your posts, you lessened your own influence. While in the
centre of your orbit there might be a semblance of government; the outer
circles remained under the influences of Turkish and Egyptian officers of
some Cairene Pasha, or Bey, or Effendi, whose conduct was licentious and
capricious. By military force the country was taken and occupied, and by
force the occupation has been maintained ever since. A recognized
Government, even if it be that of Egypt, has a legal and moral right to
extend its authority and enlarge its domain. If it executes its will
effectively, so much the better. Civilization will be benefited, and all
peoples are better under a constituted Government than under none. But
was there an effective Government? As far as Lado and Gondokoro, near the
White Nile Cataracts, it was tolerable I admit. Steamers could steam from
Berber as far as Lado, and the chief official could superintend such
sub-Governments as were established, but when, before making roads or
preparing and ensuring the means of communication, the Egyptian
Government approved the acts of expansion undertaken over the immense,
trackless, inaccessible area of the extreme Soudan, it invited the
catastrophe that happened. When Mohammed Achmet fired the combustible
material that the extortionate subordinates had gathered, the means for
extinguishing the flames were scattered over an area of about 500,000
square miles. The Governor-General was slain, his capital taken; one
province after another fell; and their governors and soldiery, isolated
and far apart, capitulated; and you, the last of these, only saved
yourself and men by retreating from Lado. Expanded on the same system,
and governed only by the presence of military, these former Egyptian
acquisitions, if retaken would invite a similar fate. If the military
occupation were effective, and each sub-Government cohered to the other,
the collapse of the Government need not be feared; but it can never be
effective under Egypt. Neither her revenues nor her population can afford
it. In the absence of this, only self-interest of the peoples governed
can link these distant territories to the Government of Egypt; and this
is an element which seems never to have been considered by those
responsible for this sudden overgrowth of Cairene empire. When has this
self-interest of the people been cultivated or fostered? The captains
marched their soldiery to a native territory, raised a flag-staff, and
hoisted the red banner with the crescent, and then with a salute of
musketry declared the described district around formally annexed to
Egypt. Proclamations were issued to all concerned, that henceforth the
ivory trade was a monopoly of the Government; and in consequence, such
traders as were in the land were deprived of their livelihood. When, to
compensate themselves for the loss of profit incurred by these measures,
the traders turned their attention to slaves, another proclamation
crushed their enterprise in that traffic also. A large number of the
aborigines derived profit from the sale of ivory to the traders, others
had lame interests in the capture and sale of slaves, while the traders
themselves, having invested their capital in these enterprises,
discovered themselves absolutely ruined, both money and occupation gone.
Remember, I am only considering the policy. Thus there were left in the
Soudan hundreds of armed caravans, and each caravan numbered from a score
to hundreds of rifles. When Mohamed Achmet raised the standard of revolt
he had some advantages to offer to the leaders of these caravans made
desperate by their losses. What had the Government officials to offer?
Nothing. Consequently all vestiges of the Government that had been so
harsh, so arbitrary, and unwise, were swept away like chaff. It was to
the interest of traders to oppose themselves to the Government, and to
endeavour to restore a state of things which, though highly immoral as
considered by us, to them meant profit, and, what is more, relief from
oppression.
"Now consider the Congo State, which has extended itself much more
rapidly than Egyptian authority was extended in the Soudan. Not a shot
has been fired, no violence has been offered to either native or trader,
not a tax has been levied except at the seaport where the trader embarks
his exports. Native chiefs voluntarily offered their territories, and
united under the blue flag with the golden star. Why? Because there were
many advantages to be derived from the strangers living among them.
First, they were protected against their stronger neighbours, every
eatable they could raise and sell brought its full value to them of such
clothing and other necessaries they needed. Whatever trade they
had--ivory, rubber, palm-oil, or kernels--was free and untaxed, and their
native customs, or domestic matters, were not interfered with. It was
founded without violence, and subsists without violence; when, however,
the Congo State initiates another policy, taxes their trade, lays hands
upon the ivory as a Government monopoly, meddles with their domestic
institutions, absorbs tyrannically all the profits of the European
trader, before it is firmly established on the soil, and gathered about
its stations sufficient physical force to enable it to do so with
impunity, the Congo State will collapse just as disastrously and as
suddenly as was the case with Egyptian authority in the Soudan. The
disaster that occurred at Stanley Falls station is an indication of what
may be expected.
"Now every man who reflects at all will see that these Provinces of yours
can never be re-occupied by Egypt while Egypt is governed by Egyptian
officials. Egypt cannot afford the sums necessary to maintain an
effective occupation over a territory so remote. They are too distant
from Wadi Haifa, the present true limit of her territory. When she
connects Wadi Haifa with Berber, or Khartoum or Suakim with Berber by
railway, Lado may be considered the extreme southern limit of her
territory. When a railway connects Lado with Dufflé the true limit of
Egyptian authority will be the southern end of this Lake, provided always
that the military force will be sufficient to maintain this mode of
communication uninterrupted. When do you think all this will happen?
During your lifetime?
"Who else, then, will be so quixotic as to cast a covetous eye on these
Provinces? The King of the Belgians? Well, there is a stipulation
connected with this proposal, and that is, if the Provinces can 'give a
reasonable revenue.' You are the best judge of this matter, and whether
£10,000 or £12,000 subsidy will suffice for the support of the Government
of these Provinces. The revenue, whatever it may be with this additional
sum, must be sufficient to maintain about twenty stations between here
and Yambuya, a distance of 650 miles or thereabouts; that is, to pay
about 1,200 soldiers, about fifty or sixty officers, and a supreme
Governor, furnish their equipments, the means of defence, and such
transport force as may be necessary to unite the most distant part with
the Congo.
"Failing the King of the Belgians, who else will undertake your support
and maintenance, befitting your station and necessity? There are enough
kind-hearted people in this world possessed of sufficient superfluous
means to equip an Expedition once, say, every three years. But this is
only a temporary expedient for mere subsistence, and it scarcely responds
to your wishes. What then? I await your answer, Pasha, again begging to
be excused for being so talkative.
"I thank you very much, Mr. Stanley, I do assure you, from my heart. If I
fail to express my gratitude, it is because language is insufficient. But
I feel your kindness deeply, I assure you, and will answer you frankly.
"Now, to the first proposition you have made me, I have already given my
answer.
"To the second I would say that, first of all, my duty is to Egypt. While
I am here, the Provinces belong to Egypt, and remain her property until I
retire. When I depart they become 'no man's land.' I cannot strike my
flag in such a manner, and change the red for the blue. I have served the
first for thirty years; the latter I never saw. Besides, may I ask you
if, with your recent experience, you think it likely that communication
could be kept open at reasonable cost?"
"Undoubtedly not at first. Our experiences have been too terrible to
forget them soon; but we shall return to Yambuya for the rear column, I
anticipate, with much less suffering. The pioneer suffers most. Those who
follow us will profit by what we have learned."
"That may be, but we shall be at least two years before any news can
reach us. No, I do not think that proposition, with all due gratitude to
His Majesty King Leopold, can be entertained, and therefore let us turn
to the last proposition.
"I do not think that my people would object to accompanying me to the
Victoria Nyanza, as their objection, so far as I know, only applies to
going to Egypt. Assuming that the people are willing, I admire the
project very much. It is the best solution of the difficulty, and by far
the most reasonable. For consider that three-fourths of the 8,000 people
are women, children, and young slaves. What would the Government do with
such a mass of people? Would it feed them? Then think of the difficulty
of travel with such an army of helpless people. I cannot take upon
myself the responsibility of leading such a host of tender-footed people
to die on the road. The journey to the Victoria is possible. It is
comparatively short. Yes, by far the last proposition is the most
feasible."
"There is no hurry, since you are to await the arrival of the rear
column. Turn the matter over in your mind while I go to bring the Major
up. You have certainly some weeks before you to consider the question
thoroughly."
I then showed him the printed Foreign Office despatches furnished to me
by order of Lord Iddesleigh. Among these was a copy of his letter to Sir
John Kirk, wherein he offered the Province in 1886 to England, and stated
that he would be most happy to surrender the Province to the British
Government, or, in fact, any Power that would undertake to maintain the
Province.
"Ah," said the Pasha, "they should never have published this letter. It
was private. What will the Egyptian Government think of my conduct in
venturing to treat of such a matter?"
"I cannot see the harm," I replied; "the Egyptian Government declares its
inability to keep the Province, the British Government will have nothing
to do with it, and I do not know of any company or body of men who would
undertake the maintenance of what I regard, under all the circumstances,
as a useless possession. In my opinion it is just 500 miles too far
inland to be of any value, unless Uganda and Unyoro have been first
brought under law; that is, if you persist in declining King Leopold's
offer. If you absolutely decline to serve the King of the Belgians, and
you are resolved to stay in Africa, you must trust in my promise to get a
British Company to employ you and your troops, which probably has by this
time been chartered with the purpose of constituting a British possession
in East Africa."
-----
[M] The following entries must be read while bearing in mind
that thirty-five days previously the Pasha had written
to the Editor of Petermann's 'Mitteilungen' a letter,
which he concluded with the significant words, "_If
Stanley does not come soon, we are lost_."