THE EMIN BEY RELIEF EXPEDITION.
Public Opinion in England -- A Relief Committee Organized --
Subscription of Funds to Defray Expenses of an Expedition -- Henry M.
Stanley called to England by Cable -- Accepts Command of the Relief
Expedition -- Stanley’s Opinion as to the Character of the Expedition
and the best Route -- Reaches Zanzibar -- Meets Tippu-Tib -- Supplied
with 600 Carriers -- Consents to Accompany Stanley -- Sails for the
Mouth of the Congo, February 25th -- Reaches the Aruwimi in June --
Leaves a Rearguard at Yambuya -- Advance towards Albert Nyanza along
the Valley of the Aruwimi -- Startling Rumors -- Stanley and Emin
Reported to be in the Hands of the Arabs -- A Letter in Proof Received
from a Mahdist Officer in the Soudan -- News of Disasters on the Congo
-- Murder of Dr. Barttelot -- Death of Mr. Jamieson -- The Gloomy News
Regarding Stanley’s Fate -- The Opinion of Thomson, the African
Traveller -- News of Stanley’s Arrival at Emin’s Capital received
December, 1888 -- First News from Stanley Himself, April 3d, 1889 --
Full Account of his March, and the Terrible Experiences Suffered from
Yambuya to the Albert Nyanza.
The betrayal of Gordon at Khartoum by the British Government, and the
consequent sad plight it placed Emin Pasha in, so thoroughly exasperated
public opinion in England that immediate steps were taken to form a
relief committee, and to raise the necessary funds to defray the
expenses of fitting-out a relief expedition, Sir William Mackinnon alone
subscribing $100,000. To this the English Government grudgingly added a
small appropriation from the Egyptian treasury.
Henry M. Stanley, while standing on the stage of the Academy of Music,
in the city of Philadelphia, on December 11th, 1886, lecturing on his
experiences in the Congo, received a cable despatch calling him to
England to take charge of the expedition to Wadelai, Emin’s
headquarters, near Lake Albert Nyanza. He immediately returned to
England, and in a short time the arrangements were completed with the
committee having the matter in charge.
There was much discussion as to the route to be taken, most authorities
favoring that overland from Zanzibar. But Mr. Stanley determined upon
the Congo, and he described the character of the expedition as follows:
“The expedition is non-military--that is to say, its purpose is not to
fight, destroy, or waste; its purpose is to save, to relieve distress,
to carry comfort. Emin Pasha may be a good man, a brave officer, a
gallant fellow deserving of a strong effort of relief; but I decline to
believe, and I have not been able to gather from any one in England, an
impression that his life, or the lives of the few hundreds under him,
would overbalance the lives of thousands of natives, and the devastation
of immense tracts of country which an expedition strictly military would
naturally cause. The expedition is a mere powerful caravan, armed with
rifles for the purpose of insuring the safe conduct of the ammunition to
Emin Pasha, and for the more certain protection of this people during
the retreat home. But it also has means of purchasing the friendship of
tribes and chiefs, of buying food and paying its way liberally.”
Mr. Stanley went from England to Egypt, where he stopped for a time at
Cairo, completing his arrangements with the Egyptian Government. At the
railway station, just before leaving for the wilderness, he had a
farewell conversation with his friend Colonel John Colborne, a veteran
of the Egyptian army in the Soudan. Speaking of some current rumors that
he intended to seize Emin’s province as a British possession, he said:
“The province is not worth taking, at least in the present state of
affairs. The difficulty of transport from either coast is too great, and
the expense, also, to give a return for money. As long as the Nile is
closed the Central provinces will never pay, and it will be years before
it is open again. Yes, the Central African provinces would be valuable
enough were river communication free. On the east side there is no
sufficiently navigable river, the presence of the tsetse fly prevents
the employment of bullocks and horses, the ground is unsuited for
camels, and the African elephant has never been tamed, so the only means
of transport is by the Wapagari, or native porters, and a precious slow
and expensive means it is, too. For any large trade purposes it would be
utterly inadequate; besides, the only present trade is in ivory and
ebony--you know what I mean by that, I suppose?--and ivory is getting
scarcer. Of course, if the Nile were open, there might be a splendid and
most remunerative trade in gum, hides, beeswax, india-rubber; anything,
too, I believe, could be cultivated to perfection in these provinces,
and probably the natives would soon learn, when once they got to
appreciate the benefit of trading, to grow cotton, tea, perhaps coffee,
rice, and the cinchona plant. Some parts are suited well for one kind of
plant, other parts for another. Thus, cotton would grow nearer the
coasts, whereas tea and coffee and the cinchona plant could be
cultivated on the slopes. But, as I said before, the true transit for
trade is by the Nile.”
In the course of further conversation he said, “Do you know that the
Nile itself could be turned off with comparative ease? The Victoria
Nyanza is on a plateau like an inverted basin. It could be made to
trickle over at any point. The present King of Uganda is fond of his
liquor. Waking up any morning after drinking too much ‘mwengi’ (plantain
wine) over night, he might have what is called ‘a head on him,’ and feel
in a very bad temper. He might then take it into his head to turn off
the Nile. He might do this by ordering a thousand or so natives to turn
out and continue to drop stones across the Ripon Falls at the top till
they were blocked. To do this would be quite possible. I calculate this
could be done by the number of men I mention in nine months, for the
falls are very narrow. True, the effect of this could be counteracted in
a year or so by reservoirs and dykes; but meanwhile the population of
Egypt would be starved. His father, King Mtesa, once actually
contemplated doing this--not with a view of creating mischief, but
because he wanted to water some particular tract of land, and for this
purpose to make the lake dribble over it.”
Concerning his own immediate work, Mr. Stanley talked at some length.
“Tell them at home,” he said, “that my mission is purely pacific. Does
any one think I am going to wade through blood to get at Emin? If I
succeeded, what would be the consequence? News would be brought to the
King, ‘Stanley is coming with an army of thirty thousand men’--you
know how figures increase when estimated by savages--and what would be
the consequence? ‘Ho! is he indeed?’ the King would say; ‘I’ll teach him
to bring an army into my country. Chop off the heads of the
missionaries.’ And,” added Mr. Stanley, speaking quite excitedly, “what,
I should like to know, is the value of Emin’s life in comparison with
that of the lives of such noble men as Mackay, Lichfield, Père Loudel,
and Frère Delmonce? Does any one think I would sacrifice them for the
sake of Emin?”
[Illustration: STANLEY QUELLING A MUTINY.]
On reaching Zanzibar he found that his agents had already recruited a
force of six hundred men for the expedition, and that Tippu-Tib, who had
escorted his caravan in 1877, when the first descent of the Congo was
made, was waiting for him. Tippu-Tib was the Zobehr of the Upper Congo,
commanding two of the best roads from the river to Wadelai. He agreed to
supply six hundred carriers at thirty dollars a man; and as Emin was
reported by Dr. Junker to have seventy-five tons of ivory, the expenses
of the expedition might be largely defrayed by the return of the
Zanzibaris to the Congo with their precious loads. Tippu-Tib was also
offered the position of Governor at Stanley Falls at a regular salary.
He consented to accompany Mr. Stanley on these terms. The steamer set
out on February 25th for the mouth of the Congo with about seven hundred
men of the expedition, reaching its destination in four weeks. He was
then twelve hundred and sixty-six miles from Aruwimi, whence he was to
march four hundred miles through an unknown country to Emin’s capital.
It was as late as April 26th before he could leave Leopoldville, on
Stanley Pool, and it was not until the second week in June that the
explorer himself was at Aruwimi, much delay having been caused by
defective transportation.
He left men at Stanley Falls with instructions to rebuild the
storehouses, to open negotiations with the tribes, and to provide
convoys of provisions for the relief expedition. A rearguard was left at
Yambuya, and the advance column passed on to the limits of navigation,
whence the overland march was taken up. Few difficulties were
encountered apart from the natural obstacles presented by a country very
difficult to traverse. About July 25th the expedition had ascended the
River Aruwimi as far as an elevated tract of country forming a portion
of the Mabodi district. At this distance from its confluence with the
Congo the river became very narrow, being no longer navigable, and Mr.
Stanley was compelled for several days to have all the provisions and
munitions for the use of the expedition, as well as those intended for
the revictualling of Emin Pasha’s garrison, carried on the men’s backs.
The quantity of rice was so large that each man had to bear a double
burden. The rafts which had been employed to convey the heavy baggage
were left behind, and only the steel whale-boat brought from the camp at
the foot of the Aruwimi rapids was carried past the narrows and again
launched in the river, Mr. Stanley greatly congratulating himself that
he had brought it, owing to the amount of water which, according to the
inhabitants of that part of the country, the expedition would have to
cross before reaching the Albert Nyanza. Mr. Stanley calculated that
once arrived at the summit of the table-lands which shape the basin of
the Aruwimi he would be able to halt for two days, in order to rest his
men and establish a fresh camp, garrisoned like that at Yambuya, by
twenty men and a European officer. The population of the country through
which Mr. Stanley was then travelling was considerable, but the people
were much scattered. The district was tranquil, the agitation prevalent
in the neighborhood of Stanley Falls not having spread to that part of
the country.
At the beginning of August the expedition was reported to be advancing
without the ammunition and stores designed for Emin. Provisions were
scarce, the officers and men undergoing great privations, and suffering
from disease and hunger. Tippu-Tib had failed to send to Yambuya the
five hundred carriers who were to convey the stores. This failure was
not due to treachery, since he was still at his post and faithful to Mr.
Stanley’s interests. In consequence of the disturbed state of the
country he could not, as had been agreed upon, organize a revictualling
caravan to be dispatched direct to the Albert Nyanza by the way of the
River Mbourou, but he agreed to do so as soon as possible. The agitation
continued in the country between Stanley Falls and the confluence of the
Aruwimi with the Congo. Several villages on the right bank of the Congo
had been pillaged and laid waste, and a large number of the natives had
crossed the river to the opposite bank.
Thus, Mr. Stanley and his comrades plunged into the wilderness, and were
lost to the sight of the world. From time to time thereafter countless
rumors came from Africa regarding them--rumors varied in tone as in
number. At one time they had reached Emin in safety. Again they were all
massacred long before they got to Wadelai. Now, Mr. Stanley had put
himself at the head of Emin’s army, and was marching on Khartoum to
avenge Gordon and overthrow the Mahdi; and then he and Emin were
captured by the Mahdist forces at Lado. Stories came of a mysterious
“White Pasha” who was leading a conquering army through the Bahr el
Ghazel country, and it was very generally believed that it was Mr.
Stanley, who had reached Wadelai and was returning to the coast by the
way of the Niger. But on December 15th, 1888, startling news came from
Suakim, on the Red Sea coast of Egypt. Osman Digna, the Frenchman who
had turned Arab, and was leader of the Mahdist army there, under a flag
of truce informed the British commander that Emin’s province had fallen
into Arab hands, and that Emin and Stanley were prisoners. In proof of
this he sent a copy of a letter just received from a Mahdist officer in
the Soudan, as follows:
“In the name of the Great God, etc. This is from the least among God’s
servants to his Master and Chief Khalifa, etc. We proceeded with the
steamers and army. Reached the town Lado, where Emin, Mudir of Equator,
is staying. We reached this place 5th Safar, 1306. We must thank
officers and men who made this conquest easy to us before our arrival.
They caught Emin and a traveler staying with him, and put both in
chains. The officers and men refused to go to Egypt with the Turks.
Tewfik sent Emin one of the travellers, whose name is Mr. Stanley. This
Mr. Stanley brought with him a letter from Tewfik to Emin, dated 8th
Jemal Aowal, 1304, No. 81, telling Emin to come with Mr. Stanley, and
gave the rest of the force the option to go to Cairo or remain. The
force refused the Turkish orders, and gladly received us. I found a
great deal of feathers and ivory. I am sending with this, on board the
‘Bordain,’ the officers and chief clerk. I am also sending the letter
which came to Emin from Tewfik, with the banners we took from the Turks.
I heard that there is another traveller who came to Emin, but I heard
that he returned. I am looking out for him. If he comes back again, I am
sure to catch him. All the chiefs of the province with the inhabitants
were delighted to receive us. I have taken all the arms and ammunition.
Please return the officers and chief clerk when you have seen them and
given the necessary instructions, because they will be of great use to
me.”
This was accompanied by what appeared to be a letter written by the
Khedive at Cairo to Emin, which had been intrusted to Mr. Stanley to
deliver, and this convinced many of the truth of Osman Digna’s story.
But, as a matter of fact, as will be seen later, it was all an ingenious
lie, concocted for the purpose of frightening the British into
abandoning Suakim to the slave-traders. Meantime there was true news of
actual disasters on the Congo. Major Barttelot, commanding the rearguard
of the expedition, was murdered; and Mr. Jamieson, who succeeded to the
command, died of fever. Under these circumstances, the gloomiest and
most anxious views prevailed regarding Mr. Stanley’s fate. That famous
and experienced African traveller, Mr. Joseph Thomson, expressed the
opinion that the whole expedition had been annihilated. “Stanley,” he
said, “has met his terrible fate in some such way as this: He started
from the Aruwimi, and almost immediately plunged into dense forests, to
be made worse by swamps further east. Through such a country his caravan
would have to travel in single file, with probably no more than twenty
men in sight at one time. Under such conditions it would be impossible
for the Europeans to keep in touch with their men, and thus scattered,
thus without officers in a sense, they would fight at a terrible
disadvantage. And fight they would have to for daily food if nothing
else, and consequently with each succeeding week less able to continue
the struggle. In this way they plunged deeper and deeper into the
recesses of the unknown forest and swamp--and deeper and deeper, no
doubt, into the heart of a powerful tribe of natives. And then the end
came. Probably in that last struggle for life not a soul escaped.
“If you ask me why no news, no rumor of that catastrophe leaked out, I
answer because there was no trade, not even a slave route, through that
region. There was no native or Arab merchant to carry the news from
tribe to tribe; and as each tribe has little but fighting relations with
the neighboring ones, the tidings would not get through by their means.
And, after all, what would the massacre of a passing caravan be to those
savages? Only a common incident not worth speaking about beside the
continual tribal wars they are accustomed to. The one thing they would
find to remark would be the wonderful character of the plunder. Some
day, no doubt, the news will leak out, but it may be months before
anything reaches us. It is not much use crying over spilt milk, but one
cannot help lamenting over this probable new disaster. It is all so much
on a par with our terrible blunderings in the Soudan and East Africa.
Only another remarkable man killed, and the magnificent life’s work of
another ruined. But for the selection of the Congo route Stanley might
have been alive, Emin succored, and not improbably the Mahdi’s host
defeated.”
These were weighty words, coming from so eminent an authority, and they
carried conviction to the hearts of many. But less than ten days later
positive and authentic news of Mr. Stanley’s arrival at Emin Pasha’s
capital was received, and April 3d, 1889, full details of the campaign,
written by Mr. Stanley himself, were received and published. This letter
was to the Chairman of the Relief Committee, and was dated at Bungangeta
Island, Ituri or Aruwimi River, August 28th, 1888, and from which we
quote:
“A short dispatch briefly announcing that we had placed the first
installment of relief in the hands of Emin Pasha on the Albert Nyanza
was sent to you by couriers from Stanley Falls, along with letters to
Tippu-Tib, the Arab Governor of that district, on the 17th inst., within
three hours of our meeting with the rear column of the expedition. I
propose to relate to you the story of our movements since June 28th,
1887.
“I had established an entrenched and palisaded camp at Yambuya, on the
Lower Aruwimi, just below the first rapids. Major Edmund Barttelot,
being senior of these officers with me, was appointed commandant. Mr.
J. S. Jamieson, a volunteer, was associated with him. On the arrival of
all men and goods from Bolobo and Stanley Pool, the officers still
believed Messrs. Troup, Ward and Bonny were to report to Major Barttelot
for duty. But no important action or movement (according to letter of
instructions given by me to the Major before leaving) was to be made
without consulting with Messrs. Jamieson, Troup, and Ward. The columns
under Major Barttelot’s orders mustered two hundred and fifty-seven men.
“As I requested the Major to send you a copy of the instructions issued
to each officer, you are doubtless aware that the Major was to remain at
Yambuya until the arrival of the steamer from Stanley Pool with the
officers, men, and goods left behind; and if Tippu-Tib’s promised
contingent of carriers had in the meantime arrived, he was to march his
column and follow our track, which, so long as it traversed the forest
region, would be known by the blazing of the trees, by our camps and
zaribas, etc. If Tippu-Tib’s carriers did not arrive, then, if he (the
Major) preferred moving on to staying at Yambuya, he was to discard such
things as mentioned in letter of instructions, and commence making
double and triple journeys by short stages, until I should come down
from the Nyanza and relieve him. The instructions were explicit and, as
the officers admitted, intelligible.
“The advance column, consisting of three hundred and eighty-nine
officers and men, set out from Yambuya, June 28th, 1887. The first day
we followed the river bank, marched twelve miles, and arrived in the
large district of Yankondé. At our approach the natives set fire to
their villages, and, under cover of the smoke, attacked the pioneers who
were clearing the numerous obstructions they had planted before the
first village. The skirmish lasted fifteen minutes. The second day we
followed a path leading inland but trending east. We followed this path
for five days through a dense population. Every art known to native
minds for molesting, impeding, and wounding an enemy was resorted to,
but we passed through without the loss of a man. Perceiving that the
path was taking us too far from our course, we cut a northeasterly
track, and reached the river again on the 5th of July. From this date
until the 18th of October we followed the left bank of the Aruwimi.
After seventeen days’ continuous marching we halted one day for rest. On
the twenty-fourth day from Yambuya we lost two men by desertion. In the
month of July we made four halts only. On the 1st of August the first
death occurred, which was from dysentery; so that for thirty-four days
our course had been singularly successful. But as we now entered a
wilderness, which occupied us nine days in marching through it, our
sufferings began to multiply, and several deaths occurred. The river at
this time was of great use to us. Our boat and several canoes relieved
the wearied and sick of their loads, so that progress, though not
brilliant as during the first month, was still steady.
“On the 13th of August we arrived at Air-Sibba. The natives made a bold
front. We lost five men through poisoned arrows, and, to our great
grief, Lieutenant Stairs was wounded just below the heart; but, though
he suffered greatly for nearly a month, he finally recovered. On the
15th Mr. Jephson, in command of the land party, led his men inland,
became confused, and lost his way. We were not re-united until the 21st.
“On the 25th of August we arrived in the district of Air-jeli. Opposite
our camp was the mouth of the tributary Nepoko.
“On the 31st of August we met for the first time a party of Manyema,
belonging to the caravan of Ugarrowwa, _alias_ Uledi Balyuz, who turned
out to be a former tent-boy of Speke’s. Our misfortunes began from this
date, for I had taken the Congo route to avoid Arabs, that they might
not tamper with my men, and tempt them to desert by their presents.
Twenty-six men deserted within three days of this unfortunate meeting.
“On the 16th of September we arrived at a camp opposite the station at
Ugarrowwa’s. As food was very scarce, owing to his having devastated an
immense region, we halted but one day near him. Such friendly terms as I
could make with such a man I made, and left fifty-six men with him. All
the Somalis preferred to rest at Ugarrowwa’s to the continuous marching.
Five Soudanese were also left. It would have been certain death for all
of them to have accompanied us. At Ugarrowwa’s they might possibly
recover. Five dollars a month per head was to be paid to this man for
their food.
[Illustration: ON THE BANKS OF THE NEPOKO.]
“On September 18th we left Ugarrowwa’s, and on the 18th of October
entered the settlement occupied by Kilinga-Longa, a Zanzibari slave
belonging to Abed bin Salim, an old Arab, whose bloody deeds are
recorded in ‘The Congo, and the Founding of its Free State.’ This
proved an awful month to us. Not one member of the expedition, white or
black, will ever forget it. The advance numbered two hundred and
seventy-three souls on leaving Ugarrowwa’s, because out of three hundred
and eighty we had lost sixty-six men by desertion and death between
Yambuya and Ugarrowwa’s, and had left fifty-six men sick at the Arab
station. On reaching Kilinga-Longa’s we discovered we had lost
fifty-five men by starvation and desertion. We had lived principally on
wild fruit, fungi, and a large, flat, bean-shaped nut. The slaves of
Abed bin Salim did their utmost to ruin the expedition. Short of open
hostilities, they purchased rifles, ammunition, clothing, so that when
we left their station we were beggared, and our men were absolutely
naked. We were so weak physically that we were unable to carry the boat
and about seventy loads of goods. We therefore left these goods and boat
at Kilinga-Longa’s under Surgeon Parke and Captain Nelson, the latter of
whom was unable to march, and after twelve days’ march we arrived at a
native settlement called Ibwiri. Between Kilinga-Longa’s and Ibwiri our
condition had not improved. The Arab devastation had reached within a
few miles of Ibwiri--a devastation so complete that there was not one
native hut standing between Ugarrowwa’s and Ibwiri, and what had not
been destroyed by the slaves of Ugarrowwa and Abed bin Salim the
elephants had destroyed, and turned the whole region into a horrible
wilderness. But at Ibwiri we were beyond the utmost reach of the
destroyers. We were on virgin soil in a populous region abounding with
food. Our suffering from hunger, which began on the 31st of August,
terminated on the 12th of November. Ourselves and men were skeletons.
Out of three hundred and eighty-nine we now only numbered one hundred
and seventy-four, several of whom seemed to have no hope of life left. A
halt was therefore ordered for the people to recuperate. Hitherto our
people were skeptical of what we told them. The suffering had been so
awful, calamities so numerous, the forest so endless apparently, that
they refused to believe that by and by we should see plains and cattle
and the Nyanza and the white man, Emin Pasha. We felt as though we were
dragging them along with a chain around our necks. ‘Beyond these raiders
lies a country untouched, where food is abundant and where you will
forget your miseries. So cheer up, boys! Be men; press on a little
faster.’ They turned a deaf ear to our prayers and entreaties--for,
driven by hunger and suffering, they sold their rifles and equipments
for a few ears of Indian corn, deserted with the ammunition, and were
altogether demoralized. Perceiving that prayers and entreaties and mild
punishments were of no avail, I then resorted to visit upon the wretches
the death penalty. Two of the worst cases were accordingly taken and
hung in presence of all.
“We halted thirteen days in Ibwiri, and revelled on fowls, goats,
bananas, corn, sweet potatoes, yams, beans, etc. The supplies were
inexhaustible, and the people glutted themselves. The effect was such
that I had a hundred and seventy-three--one was killed by an
arrow--mostly sleek and robust men, when I set out for the Albert Nyanza
on the 24th of November.
“There were still a hundred and twenty-six miles between us and the
lake; but, given food, such a distance seemed nothing.
“On the 1st of December we sighted the open country from the top of a
ridge connected with Mount Pisgah--so named from our first view of the
land of promise and plenty. On the 5th of December we emerged upon the
plains, and the deadly gloomy forest was behind us. After a hundred and
sixty days of continuous gloom we saw the light of broad day shining all
around us, and making all things beautiful. We thought we had never seen
grass so green or country so lovely. The men literally yelled and leaped
with joy, and raced over the ground with their burdens. Ah! this was the
old spirit of former expeditions successfully completed all of a sudden
revived!
“Woe betide the native aggressor we may meet, however powerful he may
be; with such a spirit the men will fling themselves like wolves on
sheep. Numbers will not be considered. It had been the eternal forests
that had made the abject, slavish creatures, so brutally plundered by
Arab slaves at Kilonga-Longa’s.
“On the 9th we came to the country of the powerful chief Mozamboni. The
villages were scattered over a great extent of country so thickly that
there was no other road except through their villages or fields. From a
long distance the natives had sighted us and were prepared. We seized a
hill as soon as we arrived in the centre of a mass of villages about 4
P. M. on the 9th of December and occupied it, building a zariba as fast
as bill-hooks could cut brushwood. The war cries were terrible from hill
to hill; they were sent pealing across the intervening valleys; the
people gathered by hundreds from every point; war-horns and drums
announced that a struggle was about to take place. Such natives as were
too bold we checked with but little effort, and a slight skirmish ended
in us capturing a cow, the first beef tasted since we left the ocean.
The night passed peacefully, both sides preparing for the morrow. On the
morning of the 10th we attempted to open negotiations. The natives were
anxious to know who we were, and we were anxious to glean news of the
land that threatened to ruin the expedition. Hours were passed talking,
both parties keeping a respectable distance apart. The natives said they
were subject to Uganda; but that Kabba-Rega was their real King,
Mozamboni holding the country for Kabba-Rega. They finally accepted
cloth and brass rods to show their King Mozamboni, and his answer was to
be given next day. In the meantime all hostilities were to be suspended.
“The morning of the 11th dawned, and at 8 A. M. we were startled at
hearing a man proclaiming that it was Mozamboni’s wish that we should be
driven back from the land. The proclamation was received by the valley
around our neighborhood with deafening cries. Their word ‘kanwana’
signifies to make peace, ‘kurwana’ signifies war. We were therefore in
doubt, or rather we hoped we had heard wrongly. We sent an interpreter a
little nearer to ask if it was kanwana or kurwana. Kurwana, they
responded, and to emphasize the term two arrows were shot at him, which
dissipated all doubt. Our hill stood between a lofty range of hills and
a lower range. On one side of us was a narrow valley two hundred and
fifty yards wide; on the other side the valley was three miles wide.
East and west of us the valley broadened into an extensive plain. The
higher range of hills was lined with hundreds preparing to descend; the
broader valley was already mustering its hundreds. There was no time to
lose. A body of forty men were sent, under Lieutenant Stairs, to attack
the broader valley. Mr. Jephson was sent with thirty men east; a choice
body of sharpshooters was sent to test the courage of those descending
the slope of the highest range. Stairs pressed on, crossed a deep and
narrow river in the face of hundreds of natives, and assaulted the first
village and took it. The sharpshooters did their work effectively, and
drove the descending natives rapidly up the slope until it became a
general flight. Meantime, Mr. Jephson was not idle. He marched straight
up the valley east, driving the people back, and taking their villages
as he went. By 3 P. M. there was not a native visible anywhere, except
on one small hill about a mile and a half west of us.
“On the morning of the 12th we continued our march. During the day we
had four little fights. On the 13th marched straight east; attacked by
new forces every hour until noon, when we halted for refreshments. These
we successfully overcame.
“At 1 P. M. we resumed our march. Fifteen minutes later I cried out,
‘Prepare yourself for a sight of the Nyanza.’ The men murmured and
doubted, and said, ‘Why does the master continually talk to us in this
way? Nyanza, indeed! Is not this a plain, and can we not see mountains
at least four days’ march ahead of us?’ At 1.30 P. M. the Albert Nyanza
was below them. Now it was my turn to jeer and scoff at the doubters;
but as I was about to ask them what they saw, so many came to kiss my
hands and beg my pardon, that I could not say a word. This was my
reward. The mountains, they said, were the mountains of Unyoro, or
rather its lofty plateau wall. Kavali, the objective point of the
expedition, was six miles from us as the crow flies.
“We were at an altitude of five thousand two hundred feet above the sea.
The Albert Nyanza was over two thousand nine hundred below us. We stood
in 1° 20´ N. latitude; the south end of the Nyanza lay largely mapped
about six miles south of this position. Right across to the eastern
shore every dent in its low, flat shore was visible; and traced like a
silver snake on a dark ground was the tributary Laniliki, flowing into
the Albert from the southwest.
“After a short halt to enjoy the prospect, we commenced the rugged and
stony descent. Before the rearguard had descended one hundred feet, the
natives of the plateau we had just left poured after them. Had they
shown as much courage and perseverance on the plain as they now
exhibited, we might have been seriously delayed. The rearguard was kept
very busy until within a few hundred feet of the Nyanza plain. We camped
at the foot of the plateau wall, the aneroids reading two thousand five
hundred feet above sea-level. A night attack was made on us, but our
sentries sufficed to drive these natives away.
“At 9 A. M. of the 14th we approached the village of Kakongo, situate at
the southwest corner of the Albert Lake. Three hours were spent by us
attempting to make friends. We signally failed. They would not allow us
to go to the lake, because we might frighten their cattle. They would
not exchange blood-brotherhood with us, because they never heard of any
good people coming from the west side of the lake. They would not accept
any present from us, because they did not know who we were. They would
give us water to drink, and they would show us our road up to
Nyamsassie. But from these singular people we learned that they had
heard there was a white man at Unyoro, but they had never heard of any
white men being on the west side, nor had they seen any steamers on the
lake. There were no canoes to be had, except such as would hold the men,
etc.
[Illustration: WILD GAME ON THE ARUWIMI.]
“There was no excuse for quarreling; the people were civil enough, but
they did not want us near them. We therefore were shown the path and
followed it a few miles, when we camped about half a mile from the lake.
We began to consider our position, with the light thrown upon it by the
conversation with the Kakongo natives. My couriers from Zanzibar had
evidently not arrived, or, I presume, Emin Pasha with his two steamers
would have paid the southwest side of the lake a visit to prepare the
natives for our coming. My boat was at Kilonga-Longa’s, one hundred and
ninety miles distant. There was no canoe obtainable, and to seize a
canoe without the excuse of a quarrel my conscience would not permit.
There was no tree anywhere of a size to make a canoe. Wadelai was a
terrible distance off for an expedition so reduced as ours. We had used
five cases of cartridges in five days of fighting on the plain. A month
of such fighting must exhaust our stock. There was no plan suggested
which seemed feasible to me, except that of retreating to Ibwiri, build
a fort, send a party back to Kilonga-Longa’s for our boat, store up
every load in the fort not conveyable, leave a garrison in the fort to
hold it, and raise corn for us; march back again to Albert Lake, and
send the boat to search for Emin Pasha. This was the plan which, after
lengthy discussions with my officers, I resolved upon.
“On the 15th we marched to the site of Kavali, on the west side of the
lake. Kavali had years ago been destroyed. At 4 P. M. the Kakongo
natives had followed us and shot several arrows into our bivouac, and
disappeared as quickly as they came. At 6 P. M. we began a night march,
and by 10 A. M. of the 16th we had gained the crest of the plateau once
more, Kakongo natives having persisted in following us up the slope of
the plateau. We had one man killed and one wounded.”
In speaking of his further movements, he says:--
“By January 7th we were in Ibwiri once again, and after a few days’ rest
Lieutenant Stairs, with a hundred men, sent to Kilonga-Longa’s to bring
the boat and goods up, also Surgeon Parke and Captain Nelson. Out of the
thirty-eight sick in charge of the officers, only eleven men were
brought to the fort, the rest had died or deserted. On the return of
Stairs with the boat and goods he was sent to Ugarrowwa’s to bring up
the convalescents there. I granted him thirty-nine days’ grace. Soon
after his departure I was attacked with gastritis and an abscess on the
arm; but after a month’s careful nursing by Dr. Parke I recovered, and,
forty-seven days having expired, I set out again for the Albert Nyanza,
April 2d, accompanied by Messrs. Jephson and Parke. Captain Nelson, now
recovered, was appointed commandant of Fort Bodo in our absence, with a
garrison of forty-three men and boys.
“On April 26th we arrived in Mozamboni’s country once again; but this
time, after solicitation, Mozamboni decided to make blood-brotherhood
with me. Though I had fifty rifles less with me on this second visit,
the example of Mozamboni was followed by all the other chiefs as far as
the Nyanza, and every difficulty seemed removed. Food was supplied
gratis; cattle, goats, sheep, and fowls were also given in such
abundance that our people lived royally. One day’s march from the Nyanza
the natives came from Kavali, and said that a white man named ‘Malejja’
had given their chief a black packet to give to me, his son. Would I
follow them? ‘Yes, to-morrow,’ I answered, ‘and if your words are true I
will make you rich.’
“They remained with us that night, telling us wonderful stories about
‘big ships as large as islands filled with men,’ etc., which left no
doubt in our mind that this white man was Emin Pasha. The next day’s
march brought us to the chief Kavali, and after a while he handed me a
note from Emin Pasha, covered with a strip of black American oil-cloth.
The note was to the effect that as there had been a native rumor to the
effect that a white man had been seen at the south end of the lake, he
had gone in his steamer to make inquiries, but had been unable to obtain
reliable information, as the natives were terribly afraid of
Kabba-Rega, King of Unyoro, and connected every stranger with him.
However, the wife of the Nyamsassie chief had told a native ally of his
named Mogo that she had seen us in Mrusuma (Mozamboni’s country). He
therefore begged me to remain where I was until he could communicate
with me. The note was signed ‘(Dr.) Emin,’ and dated March 26th.
“The next day, April 23d, Mr. Jephson was dispatched with a strong force
of men to take the boat to the Nyanza. On the 26th the boat’s crew
sighted Mswa station, the southernmost belonging to Emin Pasha, and Mr.
Jephson was there hospitably received by the Egyptian garrison. The
boat’s crew say that they were embraced one by one, and that they never
had such attention shown to them as by these men, who hailed them as
brothers.”
[Illustration]