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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State,
+by Marcus Dorman
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State
+
+Author: Marcus Dorman
+
+Release Date: March 4, 2005  [eBook #15240]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO
+FREE STATE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Brendan Lane, Martin Pettit, and the Project Gutenberg
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
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+
+
+
+
+
+A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO FREE STATE
+
+by
+
+MARCUS R. P. DORMAN, M.A.
+
+Author of _A History of the British Empire in the Nineteenth
+Century. The Mind of the Nation_, A Study of Political Thought in
+the Nineteenth Century; _Ignorance_, a Study of the Causes and
+Effects of Popular Thought; and _From Matter to Mind_.
+
+Originally published in 1905 by J. Lebègue and Co., Brussels and
+Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd., London
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Dedicated by Permission to
+His Majesty Leopold II,
+King of Belgium and Sovereign of the Congo Free State.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This journal is practically my Diary reproduced with the minimum of
+editing in order that the impressions gained on the spot should be
+described without modification. It was never intended for publication,
+and was written only as an aid to memory. Consequently it is little more
+than a collection of rough notes.
+
+Having left England with a prejudice against the Government of the Congo
+Free State and returned with a very strong feeling in its favour, I feel
+however that it is my duty to publish an account of what I did see for
+the benefit of those whose opinions are not already formed beyond
+recall.
+
+As in all controversies where feelings subordinate reason and people
+judge more by their emotions than by evidence, many are too quick to-day
+to attribute interested motives to those whose opinions are not similar
+to their own. Since a great number of people in the Congo and at home
+are curious to know whether I was sent out by the Congo Government, the
+British Government or the _Times_, I will state here once for all that I
+went to the Congo entirely to please myself and with the hope of
+shooting big game. In order indeed to satisfy curiosity, I will go
+further and state that not only was I not paid for telling the truth,
+but that the trip cost me a great deal of money.
+
+It is however delightful to remember that wherever I went I was treated
+with the greatest kindness and courtesy by all whether they approved of
+the system of the Congo Government or not and it gives me great pleasure
+to thank here the State officials, Missionaries of all denominations and
+Traders of various nationalities for their hospitality, friendship and
+valuable assistance.
+
+M.R.P.D.
+
+London 1905.
+
+[Illustration: MAP--ITINERARY OF MARCUS R.P. DORMAN IN
+THE CONGO FREE STATE]
+
+[Illustration: THE STEAMER _FLORIDA_.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+London to Banana.
+
+
+There was no time to spare. The ship sailed from Southampton in forty
+eight hours and I had only just arranged to accompany Lord Mountmorres
+on a tour in the Congo Free Stale. He was going out for the purpose of
+discovering the true condition of affairs in that country and of writing
+articles thereupon for the _Globe_ but incidentally hoped to have some
+big game shooting. After one has read much about a country it is always
+interesting to visit it and as the prospect of good sport was added in
+this case, I at once decided to brave the cannibals, wild beasts,
+and--most dangerous of all--the climate, and to seize the opportunity to
+visit the Congo.
+
+It was necessary to purchase a complete camp outfit, suitable clothes
+and much food-stuff and to arrange certain affairs at home. The first
+part was however rendered easy for it was only necessary to duplicate
+the order already given by Lord Mountmorres, and with a rapidity which
+could not be equalled anywhere else, the Army and Navy Stores and
+Messrs. Silvers packed and despatched tent, furniture and cases in a few
+hours.
+
+As there are many and varied discomforts which cannot be avoided when
+travelling in the Congo, or any other tropical and half-civilised
+country, it is just as well not to add to their number by omitting to
+benefit by the experience of others. A few hints may therefore be
+inserted here without apology for the benefit of other travellers. The
+first articles to be considered are a tent, bed, and mosquito-net. Now
+when the usual oblong tent with a penthouse roof is pitched and the bed
+made, surmounted by the mosquito-net, the only place in which there is
+room for it, is in the middle of the tent between the two poles. The
+result is that as the roof slopes, it is absolutely impossible to stand
+upright on either side and much space is therefore wasted. It would be
+better to arrange for the bed to stand close to one side of the tent and
+for the net to be attached to the sloping roof leaving the middle and
+the other side free for table and chair. Circles of hooks for clothes
+should be attached to the poles and large pockets in the walls of the
+tent itself are useful. It is needless to specify particulars about
+furniture, and I will only say that the folding or concertina pattern
+bed, bath, washhandstand and table proved very comfortable and
+withstood the great strain of being packed and unpacked nearly every day
+for six months without breaking down. A strong, long lounge chair is
+absolutely necessary. In climates where there is much glare, everything
+should be made of green canvas. The well-known Lord's patent petrol lamp
+is certainly the best and although it necessitates carrying a good
+supply of oil, is cleaner and more convenient than candles. There is not
+space here to give a list of all the necessities for travelling and
+camping in the forests of Africa and it is enough to say that one has to
+carry a complete house, furniture, kitchen utensils and much food. Wheat
+and milk cows do not exist in the forest and very little grows which is
+edible. It is therefore necessary to carry sufficient flour, butter,
+lard, condiments, tinned meats, vegetables and fruits in order to cook,
+and to make a variety from the antelopes, fish, game, goats and chickens
+which are procurable on the spot. Water bottles and filters are very
+necessary, but for Africa the best change at home--those which have
+porcelain cores--are of no use for the water is very muddy, and the
+minute pores at once become blocked. The charcoal filters, although
+bulky to carry, are therefore the best for the forest. The question of
+alcohol must be left to the individual himself, but it must be
+remembered that there are only a very few places where it can be
+purchased in the Congo and that the State officials are only permitted
+to have a limited amount for themselves. Undoubtedly the best wine for
+the climate is good claret or burgundy, and the healthiest spirit,
+whisky. It is however, well to have some medical comforts in the shape
+of champagne and brandy to take after attacks of fever. Excellent
+native coffee can be purchased; tea and sugar must be carried. Drugs,
+especially iron, quinine, arsenic and phenacetin are essential as also
+splints, bandages and dressings in case of accidents.
+
+Now it must be remembered that the climate is hot and humid. Metals rust
+at once, leather and cloth become mouldy, food stuffs will keep one or
+two days only after the tins are opened, and cigars, tobacco and
+cigarettes become damp and ferment. In packing therefore, all the food,
+cigars, cigarettes and tobacco should be soldered airtight and in tins
+so arranged that when once opened, it is possible _to shut_ them again.
+A tin of sardines or condensed milk once opened cannot be carried in a
+case liable to be upside down at any moment. There are however, some
+bottles with screw tops and india-rubber rings in which Messrs. Crosse
+and Blackwell send out jam. These are airtight and so very useful for
+when they are empty they can be cleaned and used for milk, sardines, or
+anything else again and again. Messrs. Huntley and Palmer pack biscuits
+in their usual tins but with an inner lid soldered, and these are also
+very convenient. Above all things, remember curry powder, pickles,
+chutney and Worcester sauce, for even goat's flesh can be rendered
+pleasant if it tastes of something else. All this may sound trivial, but
+it is really very important, for the appetite is easily lost in the
+Congo and if the strength is not maintained by plenty of food, sickness
+is certain to follow. Leather cases for rifles and guns are not good as
+they deteriorate. The best case I have ever seen was made for me by a
+ship's boatswain. It was of strong sail canvas made to fit the rifle
+and covered outside with ordinary ship's paint; the inside speedily
+became lined with oil and the whole formed an excellent guard against
+the damp. It is however, necessary to have firearms cleaned and oiled
+nearly every day whether used or not.
+
+Clothes of cloth are not necessary. Drill, khaki and flannel are
+sufficient with light helmets and plenty of strong boots. It must be
+remembered that everything has to be carried by porters. Clothes,
+blankets, etc. should be packed in tin boxes with rubber edges so that
+when shut they are airtight; tents pack in bales and every article of
+furniture should fold up. The whole equipment must be arranged so that
+each load is about 50 or 60 lbs and is conveniently shaped for carrying
+on the head or shoulder. We were careful to choose the lightest
+articles, whenever consistent with strength, and thus our baggage when
+completed weighed only a little more than two tons.
+
+All was ready when we left Waterloo at 10.25 a.m. on Friday June 24th
+1904 accompanied by Sir Alfred Jones and Sir Ralph Moor who saw us off
+at Southampton. The latter has had much experience of Africa and told
+some blood-curdling stories of the manners of the natives. Adulterers
+used to be punished in a most barbarous way. A youth who had erred with
+one of the numerous wives of a Chief, was nailed by the ears to a tree
+in the forest and left to starve. Women also were treated with equal
+severity and all manner of mutilations were practised. Such atrocities
+have of course been suppressed by the Congo Free State.
+
+Having reached Southampton, we went on board the S.S. _Leopoldville_, a
+ship of about 5,000 tons burden, very clean and well-found. She belongs
+to the _Compagnie maritime belge_ which runs a ship every third week
+from Antwerp and Southampton to Boma and Matadi. We sailed about 2 p.m.
+and a savoury smell from the galley reminded us that it was about seven
+hours since we had breakfasted.
+
+Some of the passengers were English military officers and miners bound
+for the Gold Coast, but most were evidently officials of the Congo Free
+State. The conversation soon turned upon the agitation in Europe against
+the Congo Government, and it was extraordinary with what sorrowful
+indignation the various charges were refuted. This impressed me greatly
+at the time for it was in marked contrast with the indifference shown by
+an average Englishmen when his country and methods are abused by
+foreigners. Probably the explanation is, that we are so used to
+unmerited abuse, that we regard it as part of the normal order of
+things. The Congo State on the other hand, has only recently become
+sufficiently prosperous to attract attention.
+
+One of the passengers dressed as a Catholic Priest, proved a veritable
+mine of information. This was Mgr. Derikx, Prefet Apostolique of Uele in
+the Upper Congo. He had had five years' experience of the country and
+was well versed in all its institutions and ways. Another was a young
+military officer, M. Arnold, already of the rank of Commandant, for he
+had shown distinguished service in the field--or rather the forest--and
+also as an administrator at a State Post. There were also many other
+officials, soldiers, lawyers and commercial agents on board.
+
+I determined therefore, to read the various books and reports written
+against the Congo--whether the writers had ever been in the country or
+not--then to question the officials who had worked there, and finally to
+see the actual condition of affairs for myself.
+
+We tumbled about in The Bay of Biscay a little and the motion did not
+much aid the digestion of the contents of histories and blue and white
+books. A welcome break was therefore made when we reached Teneriffe on
+June 29th. It is early afternoon and the view of Santa Crus from the sea
+is very beautiful. In the foreground is ultra-marine coloured water; on
+shore, bright yellow houses with red roofs dotted among palms and other
+foliage of vivid green, and behind all, frowns the great grey mountain
+12,000 feet high. The hills stretching up from the sea are in many cases
+terraced for gardens and vineyards and a new hotel stands out
+prominently on one side. It is a glorious picture, but if the eye is
+delighted as the boat approaches the shore, the nose is offended
+immediately on landing. Streets, houses and people near the harbour are
+dirty and odoriferous and as the shops are all shut for a saint's day,
+the town looks dismal in spite of the bright sun.
+
+After changing some money at the shop of a jew who gave us the wrong
+amount and looked injured when we insisted upon the right, we took an
+open carriage and drove to the Cathedral. The building is not imposing
+from the outside, but is highly gilded within where is the famous Holy
+Cross which gives the town its name. There are also many wax figures
+representing saints, mostly dressed in the costume of the seventeenth
+century and enclosed in glass cases. The boy who acted as our guide
+having discovered our nationality, pointed out with great glee _English
+organ_, _English clock_. and finally with satirical humour--probably
+unconscious--_English flags_. These flags are those lost by Nelson at
+the siege of Santa Crus where he lost his arm and a good story is told
+about them. An ambitious British middy stole them from the Cathedral and
+was very disappointed, when instead of being at once promoted, he was
+forced to apologize and restore them.
+
+We next drive up a broad, fairly well kept, boulevard to the Bull Ring
+situated in an open space behind the town. A woman conducts us into the
+ring and shows us the stables in which the infuriated beasts are kept
+before they are asked to shed their blood for the idle amusement of the
+spectators. On the walls are many names which look like British, and the
+guide is quite astonished when we refuse to add ours to their number.
+
+Commandant Arnold here takes on board six camels, for it is hoped these
+ships of the desert will also sail equally well in the forest. The
+experiment is at any rate not expensive, for they only cost £16 each and
+will carry several hundred pounds weight of baggage.
+
+From time to time the Congo Government has been charged with forcing the
+natives to work against their will and with ill-treating them, and it
+has also been alleged that the native soldiers committed many atrocities
+during the wars against the revolting tribes. Many of these charges have
+been collected and published in _Civilisation in Congoland_ written by
+Mr. H.R. Fox-Bourne, the Secretary of the Aborigines Protection Society.
+The author has not travelled in the country himself, but relies chiefly
+upon the evidence of the late Mr. Edward Glave, at one time an official
+of the Congo International Association, and of the late Mr. Sjöblom who
+was a Swedish Missionary in the Congo. The book is not cheerful reading,
+for indeed it is chiefly a record of crimes which have been committed in
+the past.
+
+It has been frequently stated that acting under the orders, or at least
+with the connivance of the agents of the Congo State and those of the
+Commercial Companies in the country, the native police or sentries have
+punished in a most barbarous manner all those natives who refused to
+work. It is alleged indeed, that these sentries have actually cut off
+the hands of those who did not collect the rubber or food-stuff demanded
+by the agents. To even read of such sickening horrors is terrible, and I
+was therefore much relieved to find that none of the State officials on
+board had ever seen natives maimed in that or any other manner by the
+soldiers of the State. There seems however, to be no doubt that the
+native chiefs in the past mutilated both the living and dead as
+punishment for crime. Mgr. Derikx told me that he had heard of a case
+where a chief had ordered that the hand of his own son should be cut off
+because he had committed adultery with one of his numerous wives.
+
+We arrived at Dakar, the capital of the French colony of Senegambia, at
+daylight on July 3rd. Navigation is not easy here, for a reef runs
+parallel to the coast and the channel between, is neither broad nor
+deep. The town is built on the shores of a bay and faces an island
+strongly fortified. The whole colony is being rapidly developed; a
+railway runs to St. Louis and roads are being constructed across the
+desert towards Timbuctoo and the northern coasts. A flourishing
+industry in palm oil is carried on and Dakar is also an important
+military centre. Several of the officers however, were engaged in the
+peaceful pursuit of fishing at the end of the breakwater when we
+arrived.
+
+At Dakar, Commandant and Madame Sillye come on board. The former has
+served for ten years in the Congo and is now taking out ten horses
+purchased in Senegambia, from which he hopes to breed. They are a fine
+looking set, very quiet and well behaved, and take up their quarters
+opposite the camels without creating any disturbance. We have now quite
+a menagerie on board. Besides the camels and horses, there are pigeons
+to be trained as carriers, guinea pigs with which the doctors
+investigating the terrible disease the Sleeping Sickness, will
+experiment and several dogs belonging to the passengers. Various kinds
+of rubber and other living plants also occupy an appreciable part of the
+promenade deck. Passengers and cargo indeed, are strong evidence of the
+earnest way in which the Congo is being developed.
+
+It is necessary now to turn from the actual visual facts and to study
+the statements of others. While doing so however, we must bear in mind
+the main outlines of the history of the Congo Free State. The opening up
+of the Congo was entirely due to the initiative of King Leopold of
+Belgium aided by the explorations of the late Sir H.M. Stanley. In 1878,
+after Stanley's first descent of the Congo, a society of philanthropists
+was formed called the _Comité d'études du Haut-Congo_ but this was
+changed in 1882 to the _Association Internationale du Congo_. Stanley
+and a French officer, M. de Brazza, then both worked up from the coast
+at the same time and the former reached Lake Leopold on June 1st 1882,
+while the latter concluded treaties with the Chiefs on the north bank of
+the river and founded the French Congo.
+
+The International Association of the Congo at once organised itself into
+an Independent State and on April 22nd 1884 a Declaration was made by
+the Government of the United States of America that it recognized the
+flag of the International Association as that of a friendly Government.
+At the end of 1884 and the beginning of 1885, Conventions were arranged
+between the Governments of Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium,
+Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Russia and Sweden and
+Norway and the International Association of the Congo in which all those
+countries recognised the flag of the International Association as that
+of a friendly Government. It is therefore clear that the chief Powers of
+the World regarded the Association as an Independent State and
+negotiated with it as such.
+
+At the same time the Powers of Europe were annexing various parts of
+Africa, and with the idea of regulating in a spirit of mutual goodwill
+the conditions most favourable for the development of civilisation and
+commerce, a Conference was arranged at Berlin by Prince Bismarck. All
+the Powers of Europe and the United States of America sent
+plenipotentiaries who sat from November 15th 1884 to February 26th 1885
+and agreed to the General Act of Berlin of the latter date. In this it
+is decreed that all nations should enjoy complete liberty of commerce in
+all the territories constituting the basin of the Congo and its
+tributaries, and also in other parts of Central Africa mentioned, that
+slavery should be abolished and that the Congo river should be open to
+general navigation.
+
+We shall have to refer to this Treaty later, but it is important to note
+here that the United States of America and all the great Powers of
+Europe had recognised the International Association as an Independent
+State before it was signed. Furthermore, before this date, Conventions
+had been signed with France and Portugal to arrange the frontiers
+between the territories of those Powers and the International
+Association. The General Act of Berlin had however nothing to do with
+frontiers at all, but stated the general principles which it seemed were
+best suited to the needs of the people and territories in Central
+Africa, to which all the African Powers, and among them the
+International Association, voluntarily agreed. It is therefore clear
+that the clauses of the Act apply to all the Powers in the territories
+defined, and that the Act itself was not concerned with founding or
+regulating the system of Government of the International Association,
+which six months later took the name of the _État Indépendant du Congo_
+with His Majesty Ring Leopold II. as sovereign.
+
+While engaged in studying these treaties, we arrived at Free Town,
+Sierra Leone on July 5th. Here again the place forms a beautiful picture
+from the sea. A reef runs far out and is marked by a lighthouse, while
+the town itself, protected by a fort with grass ramparts, lies on the
+south side of a kind of bay, which, however, has more the appearance of
+the mouth of a large river. Palms and other tropical plants grow to the
+water's edge and among them are yellow and red houses while higher up
+the hills behind, are isolated bungalows and the barracks, at this time
+occupied by the West African regiment. In the distance, bleak and bare
+mountains passively regard the scene. On landing, one meets faces
+showing every shade from ivory white to jet black and clothes of every
+known colour. The roads are not paved in any way, as there are neither
+horses nor wheeled vehicles here. Indeed, the houses are built in rows
+facing each other, a gutter is cut in front and the space between forms
+a street. The Custom House is an imposing structure near the beach and
+the Cathedral is a handsome Gothic church, but as one end was covered
+with scaffolding, it was not looking its best. A light railway runs up
+the hill to the barracks of the native regiment and a special train was
+arranged for the passengers of the _Leopoldville_.
+
+Hotel accommodation in Sierra Leone is, like the demand for it, limited.
+It is, however, possible to obtain a meal at the _Victoria_. Altogether
+Free Town leaves the impression that it could be developed into a most
+attractive watering place if it were nearer Europe and had a better
+climate.
+
+It is now getting rather hot and tropical, while the sea is as smooth as
+a mirror and equally reflects the glare.
+
+I continue to read up the Congo controversy. The report of Mr. Casement,
+at one time British Consul at Boma, created quite a sensation when it
+appeared. He stated that the Congo Free State had granted concessions to
+Trading Companies, which is a fact, and that the agents of these
+companies compelled the natives by force to collect rubber, which
+however, he does not attempt to prove by his own experience, but relies
+entirely upon reports of natives and hearsay evidence. He quoted one
+case which illustrates the extreme difficulty of discovering the truth
+from natives. He examined a boy named Epondo who stated that his left
+hand had been cut off by a native sentry. Not knowing the native
+dialect, Mr. Casement employed an interpreter, but he was convinced by
+the manner and gestures of the villagers that the boy's story was true.
+When the report appeared, the boy was again examined by some officials
+of the State, when he at once contradicted the first statement and said
+that his arm and hand had been severely bitten by a wild boar when he
+was a child and that the hand afterwards fell off. Now one of these
+tales is obviously false and there is evidence to show which, for the
+scar of a clean cut wound is different from that following gangrene.
+However, at this time I had not seen the boy, so of course could give no
+opinion. This is the only case of reputed mutilation which could be
+discovered for the benefit of Mr. Casement and was a very unfortunate
+example of an atrocity, for in the first place it was the _left_ hand
+that was missing and the soldiers were supposed always to cut off the
+_right_, and in the second, there was great doubt whether it was the
+result of an accident or not.
+
+We were now coasting off Liberia and Captain Sparrow who was in command
+of the _Leopoldville_ cheered us up with the statement that the charts
+of this part had not been revised for eighty years, that there were many
+rocks and that ships frequently went ashore here. Wreckers then went out
+and looted everything on board. It is not therefore, a pleasant place in
+which to make an enforced landing.
+
+Liberia itself however, must be interesting to visit, for it is an
+independent republic of negroes with an elected President, Senate and
+House of Representatives. It sells palm oil to other countries and buys
+alcohol, arms and ammunition, thus exchanging a peaceful luminant and
+lubricant for the elements of moral and physical strife. Fortunately no
+rocks appear through the bottom of the ship and Commandant Sillye
+relieves the monotony of the voyage by describing the Constitution of
+the Congo State, which however, like other constitutions, is
+occasionally revised. At its head is the Sovereign of the State aided by
+Ministers at Brussels, next in rank comes the Governor-General and
+Vice-Governor-Generals, one of whom is always at Boma. There are also
+Royal Commissioners and Inspectors of the State who are very high
+officials, but whose duties are not easily defined. The whole country is
+divided into Districts which are governed by District Commissioners. The
+Districts are divided into zones ruled by zone chiefs under the control
+of the District Commissioners. Finally the Posts and Stations are
+commanded by Post-Commanders. All these may be described as civil
+administrative officials who, subject to the general system and laws
+have practical control over more or less limited areas. The officers of
+the Force Publique rank as Commandant, Captain, Lieutenant and
+Under-Lieutenant, and there are also several white non-commissioned
+officers. The natives rank as sergeants, corporals and privates.
+
+On July 8th we arrive at Sekondi, Gold Coast Colony. The town from the
+sea seems to consist of white houses and huts with the usual red roofs.
+On a hillock near the shore is an old Dutch fort now used as a
+signalling station, and on the left, half way up a hill, an hotel has
+been built. The place is not very pretty or attractive-looking for there
+is not much colour and no mountains are visible. We anchor some distance
+from the beach and several open boats at once put off. These are each
+propelled by ten or twelve natives, who sit on the sides of the boat and
+ply their paddles, lustily singing as they work together and with a
+will. The paddles are shaped somewhat like those of a Canadian canoe,
+except that the blade is star shaped. All the cargo is swung overboard
+into these boats or canoes as they are called, and the passengers are
+lowered in a kind of chair. As there is a heavy ground swell running,
+the canoes are bobbing up and down like corks alongside. The chair is
+suspended in mid air and lowered rapidly as the canoe washes up, while
+all hope that it and its occupant will descend at the right moment.
+
+One of the passengers was an English officer, Captain Wheeler, with whom
+we had played many games of deck cricket on the voyage. First his
+regulation seventy cubic feet of baggage was lowered--an extraordinary
+amount, for no one without the aid of a slide rule and logarithms could
+possibly calculate it--and then he himself made the perilous
+descent--without a ducking. He would next have 240 miles of train
+journey to Coomassie and then a walk--or rather a journey in a
+hammock--for another 300 miles to his station.
+
+We now travel parallel to the Gold Coast which looks hot and uninviting,
+for there are but few patches of green or trees until Cape Coast Castle
+is reached. Here is a fort which must have impressed natives and slave
+dealers greatly in the past, a few houses and an imposing looking
+church dotted in the red sand. The whole line of the Coast here,
+somewhat recalls the Atlantic sea board of Georgia, U.S.A. and the towns
+look as though they would be as hot as Aden at its best or rather worst.
+
+After leaving the Gold Coast, our course is shaped across the Bight of
+Benin straight for the Congo. There is plenty of time therefore, to
+study the system of justice in the Congo. This, like everything else in
+the country, is essentially simple and practical. There is a Court of
+Première Instance at Boma and others called Territorial Courts at
+Matadi, Stanley Pool, East Kwango, The Equator, Bangalas, Aruwimi,
+Stanley Falls and Kassai[1]. In each Court is a Judge, an Officer of the
+Public Ministry and a Registrar, but in the Territorial Courts, the
+judge may assume the functions of all. These courts hear all civil
+cases, whether European or native, but the Court at Boma is alone
+competent to hear trials for capital offences, whether committed by
+soldiers or civilians. The Court of Appeal consists of the President,
+two Judges, an Officer of the Public Ministry and a Registrar, and hears
+all appeals from the judgments of the other Courts, and also from those
+given by Courts Martial against civilians who are not natives in those
+regions subjected to special rule. Natives who commit offences against
+other natives, are left to be dealt with by the local Chief[2]. The
+Public Minister can however interfere if he thinks the crime will not
+be punished if left to the Chief.
+
+The Public Ministry consists of a Procureur d'État appointed by the
+Sovereign, who acts in the Court of Appeal and of substitutes appointed
+by the Governor General, who act in the other Courts. Their duty is to
+discover all infractions of the law in the whole territory of the State
+and to see that all decrees, arrests, ordinances and penal regulations
+are carried out. They are especially instructed to arrange that any
+native who has been injured receives full compensation before any fine
+is taken to the profit of the State.
+
+Any region can be placed under military law by a decree of the Governor
+General. Civilians however, are only subject to the ordinary penal laws,
+and those who are not natives, can appeal against any decision of a
+Court Martial. In practice these simple methods work admirably and it is
+difficult to understand why they should not be equally successful in old
+civilised countries and a good substitute for the complicated and
+cumbrous machinery of to-day.
+
+[Illustration: THE NATIVE HOSPITAL AT BOMA.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] This list is taken from _Justice Repressive (État Indépendant du
+Congo)_ and is based on a Decree of 1896. Since then other Territorial
+Courts have been or are about to be added.
+
+[2] Some of the greater Chiefs and Sultans have the power to inflict the
+death sentence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Banana to Leopoldville.
+
+
+The amount of sand in the bath water on the morning of July 12th
+indicated that we were approaching the mouth of a large river. The
+Atlantic indeed, which had varied in colour from dirty green near the
+English Channel to ultra marine at Teneriffe, was now of a fine amber
+tint. As yet land was not in sight; it was comparatively cool and a
+slight breeze was blowing. About midday the low lying coast of Central
+Africa became visible as a dark line and half an hour afterwards a
+simple break could be seen in this line which was the clearly defined
+mouth of the Congo. On reference to the chart it became clear that
+although the lower Congo forms a delta in some places twenty miles in
+width, all the streams coalesce and flow through an opening not more
+than five miles wide. On both sides the coast is low lying and well
+wooded.
+
+As we approach nearer, the northern point resolves itself into the
+extremity of a peninsula, for one branch of the river turns northward
+thus leaving a strip of land a few hundred yards wide. We pass through
+the mouth of the river, thread our way between several buoys, turn up
+this northern channel and arrive at an anchorage in which eight or nine
+small ships are riding. As we take up our position a boat leaves the
+shore flying the Congo Flag, a blue ground with a golden star in the
+centre. Soon after we go ashore in a _dug out_. propelled by Kru boys to
+the town of Banana, which is built on this sandy peninsula and is thus
+guarded by sharks on one side and crocodiles on the other. We land at a
+wooden pier used chiefly for loading canoes. On each side are
+magnificent palms, some being more than fifty feet high and all bearing
+many cocoa nuts at this season about half ripe. These palms are not
+indigenous, but flourish here. The main highway of Banana is a path of
+clean yellow sand about ten feet wide, shaded by an avenue of these
+palms and crosses at intervals small tidal streams by rustic wooden
+bridges. Many tropical trees and shrubs grow on each side of the avenue,
+and in the bright sunshine the whole forms a very beautiful picture. It
+is unfortunate that the effect reminds one somewhat forcibly of a
+transformation scene of a pantomime and thus appears artificial although
+in reality, it is absolutely natural. The resemblance is still further
+strengthened by the numerous ladies of the ballet who leisurely stroll
+along clothed in nature's ebony black. No one seems to know the origin
+of the name of the town, for the Banana palm is not found here at all.
+
+At the extreme end of the point, and extending inwards for several
+hundred yards, are the grounds of the Dutch Trading Company, which has
+been established here for more than fifty years and ships many of the
+products of the country. The wooden sheds painted white are very
+picturesque amid the vivid green foliage. Beyond this area is the house
+of Dr. Carre, the Commissaire of the District of Banana, which like all
+the other houses in the town is raised on piles above the level of the
+sand, for the double purpose of ensuring a current of air beneath and of
+keeping it dry when the peninsula is flooded. It faces the sea and
+behind is a small garden in which are many meteorological instruments.
+Among these are an anemometer slowly revolving in the light air, maximum
+and minimum bulbs in the shade, on the ground and beneath it, a most
+ingenious sun dial, and a heliometer. Walking inland along the central
+avenue, we pass some native shops, one of which bears the interesting
+name of _Williams Brothers_. In many of the verandahs, native women
+wrapped in highly coloured cloths but with bare feet and legs, are
+working sewing machines or tending their children. Further on is a space
+laid out in regular squares, in each of which is a well built wooden
+house raised on piles, and an ornamental garden, the flower beds being
+bordered either with sea shells or with glass bottles pushed neck
+downwards into the sand, leaving about two inches projecting above the
+surface. A little further on is an hotel facing the sea in which is
+apparently poor accommodation and not much to eat or drink. Beyond this
+is the native village, consisting of square huts and rough gardens in
+which some potatoes seem to be growing in spite of the soil and
+temperature.
+
+Only about twenty Europeans live at Banana and their chief excitement is
+the arrival of the steamer. Most of them indeed came off to dinner and
+held a kind of concert in the saloon afterwards. All night long winches
+and men were creaking, groaning, and shouting, as some of the cargo was
+put overboard into two large lighters. It was not however, destined for
+Banana and was transshipped here only to lighten the _Leopoldville_ so
+that she could pass a certain bar higher up the river. The cargo
+consisted of coal in the shape of brickets, cement, rice, oil, cloth,
+clothes, beads, salt and general provisions. As soon as sufficient had
+been removed, the two lighters were attached one to each side of the
+ship and we started up the main stream, which here runs between the
+south or Portuguese bank and a series of islands. All these are covered
+with dense forest the only living things visible being great black
+eagles with white wings. On the left bank of the river we pass Malela, a
+station for collecting bamboos, and soon after Kissange on the opposite
+side where palm oil is made and shipped. A little higher up, the country
+opens out and a range of hills becomes visible in the distance, the
+plain between being covered with coarse grass six or seven feet high,
+relieved at intervals by solitary palm trees. This is all Portuguese
+territory, the Congo State here possessing only a narrow strip of land
+along the northern bank. The course of the river here is very sinuous,
+winding in and out among the hills, the curves being cut more sharply
+each day as the water eats into the sand and carries it to be digested
+in the great stomach of the Atlantic.
+
+In this district both the State and the Portuguese have started large
+farms for breeding European cattle which thrive here satisfactorily.
+Higher up a solitary rock overhangs the left bank. This is known as
+Fetish Rock from the legend that the natives used to throw live people
+from it into the river as sacrifices. This is possibly true but there is
+little evidence to show that the natives of the Congo ever sacrificed
+either living or dead to propitiate anyone or anything.
+
+Near here we anchor for the night and are welcomed by a host of most
+noisy and vicious mosquitoes who have a particular partiality to good
+healthy European-fed blood. Again we are delayed to unload and this time
+into a small steamer the _Lagoon_--for the ship is still too deep in the
+water to cross the bar. This sandy obstruction has an unpleasant habit
+of shifting its position and it is necessary therefore to make careful
+soundings every voyage at this time of the year when the water is low.
+These are carried out by Captain Sparrow and Mr. Wright the chief Congo
+pilot with the aid of a most ingenious sounding machine. It consists of
+a simple pulley wheel raised on a standard about ten feet above the deck
+of a small pilot steamer. Over this passes a line weighted at both ends
+but unequally, and both weights hang down in the water, the heavier
+naturally being on the bottom of the river. To prevent this line--which
+corresponds to the ordinary lead line--trailing, as the boat moves
+forward, a second line is fixed to the weight and passes under water to
+the bows of the vessel where it is attached As the vessel passes slowly
+through the water, the weight rises and falls according to the level of
+the bottom, and the counterweight hauls in the slack of the line, which
+is marked in the usual way by coloured tapes. At any moment therefore,
+the depth of water can be determined by observing the tapes. There is
+now only 15-1/2 feet on the bar, so it is necessary to lighten the
+_Leopoldville_ still more before it will be possible to cross. Thus
+early one of the chief difficulties in the Congo the transport of
+goods--is demonstrated.
+
+A fine crocodile lies asleep on the bank within easy range as we go back
+to the ship in the launch, but no one has a rifle so his dreams are
+undisturbed. As the _Leopoldville_ will not be able to reach Boma until
+the morrow, we decide to go on in the _Heron_, a small ship which
+calls for all the State passengers. After Fetish Rock, the river bends
+sharply to the right and soon after Boma is in sight. At this distance
+however, the town merely appears as groups of white houses amid trees
+backed by green hills. Guarding the approach is a strong looking fort
+which already has a history, for it was captured by rebels and held for
+one or two days a few years ago.
+
+As the sun was seeking his couch we arrive at the iron pier at Boma on
+which we find Mr. Underwood, the Director of the well known English
+trading house of Messrs. Hatton and Cookson. With him we walk down the
+main business street of the town; a wide shady road lined with shops,
+hotels, and restaurants and traversed by a steam tram. At the end of
+this street the road continues to the right, up an incline and opposite
+to the corner is one of the entrances to the Residency. Passing this we
+leave a Catholic church, constructed of corrugated iron, on the right
+and enter a shady avenue in which is the Secretariat. We are then
+introduced to Mr. Vandamme, the Secretaire General, who at once takes us
+to the Residency and presents us to Mr. Costermans, the Governor General
+of the Congo Free State, who hopes we shall travel wherever we feel
+inclined and see anything we desire.
+
+The Residency is a large two storey house surrounded by a wide verandah
+and is built of iron plates bolted together. It is raised about ten feet
+from the ground on iron pillars and approached by a wide staircase with
+wooden steps. It is surrounded by a well kept garden in which are some
+statues and many tropical plants. The view from the verandah, looking up
+and down the river is very pretty. Although the house is in good
+condition and the dining room large enough to seat thirty people, it is
+thought not to be worthy of its function, and another large building
+will soon be erected on the same site.
+
+After this visit we proceed to a house which is kept for the use of the
+higher State Officials when they pass through Boma and which was now
+placed at our disposal. It is constructed in a similar manner to the
+Residency and although smaller, contains three lofty reception and two
+bed rooms. Two _boys_. are told off to attend to our wants and after a
+rest we take a stroll round the town with Mr. Vandamme. Most of the
+official residencies are situated in one Avenue and are surrounded by
+gardens in which palms, bulbous trees, and acacias give welcome shade to
+the roses beneath. The Avenue du Plateau leads up a gentle incline to
+the Law Courts in which once a week sits the Court of Première Instance.
+Near by is the prison and the terminus of the tramway. From the summit
+of the hill a grand view is obtained of the river winding between the
+hills to the East, and at one's feet is a native village nestling in a
+valley, for the natives dislike wind and cold almost as much as they do
+rain. Separated from it is another native village in which the
+Government has placed the educated people who can read and write and
+many are now ambitions to qualify for admission.
+
+It is now time to return to dinner with Mr. Vandamme where we meet Mr.
+Gohr, the Director of Justice, and Mr. Underwood. Everyone here dines in
+white, which is both cool and picturesque. Our host has an excellent
+native cook who gives us some very good vegetable soup, one of the
+numerous Congo fishes, all of which are nice, a very tender chicken, an
+excellent salad and a well made omelette, all of which are products of
+the country. Flour and butter have however, to be imported, as no wheat
+will grow in this part of the country and the cows give scarcely enough
+milk for their calves. Everyone retires and rises early, so at 9 p.m. we
+seek our house guided by a boy with a lantern, for most of the streets
+of Boma are not lighted artificially.
+
+Next day we call on Mr. Nightingale who is at present acting as British
+Consul. The consulate is about a mile from the town situated on the
+banks of the river and is well constructed of wood. Mr. Nightingale
+offers kindly to lend us any assistance on our voyage that we may
+require. Afterwards we buy many things which will be necessary up
+country, among which are bags of salt, a very popular form of money in
+some parts, and tins of petrol for the lanterns.
+
+Everyone in Boma works hard, from the Secretaire General who is at his
+office from 7 a.m. to midday and from 2.30 to 5 p.m. to the hardy
+healthy-looking native who wields his pick as he chats with his fellows.
+Roads are being made and gardens laid out in various places. One very
+noticeable feature of the natives here, is that they nearly all bear
+wellmarked vaccination marks. Here and there a policeman patrols in an
+effective costume of blue and red and armed with a short sword.
+Everywhere is order, method, and cleanliness, and it is very difficult
+to realise that a quarter of a century ago only three trading houses
+stood on the site of this prosperous and well-regulated little town. In
+the evening we dined with the Governor General who has both a good cook
+and butler; the wines being excellent. Outside, the band of the Force
+Publique played selections of music, rendered the more interesting by
+the fact that not one of the players could read a note of music and each
+learnt his part entirely by ear. Most of the guests were our fellow
+travellers and well known to us. The conversation turned upon the
+Sleeping Sickness, Beri Beri, the difficulty of growing wheat in the
+Congo, and the climate. It is not very hot in Boma about this time, for
+it is the winter or dry season and the nights are so cold that only the
+very hardy mosquitoes are sufficiently wide awake to prevent people
+sleeping. Still it is hotter, than we ever experience in England, and
+with forethought for the comfort of his guests, Mr. Costermans usually
+commands white costumes instead of European dress.
+
+The native hospital is a newly-built stone and brick structure and is
+under the charge of an Italian, Dr. Zerbini. The wards are well arranged
+in separate wings, permitting good ventilation and isolation. The beds
+are iron with bamboos stretched lengthwise, thus forming a kind of
+spring mattress. There are many cases of Sleeping Sickness in the
+hospital exhibiting various symptoms. In the early stages the patient
+has many fits of emotional excitement and these alternate with periods
+of physical and mental languor. Afterwards he lies for weeks or months
+as if dead and can only be persuaded to eat with great difficulty.
+Ultimately complete coma supervenes. A motile bacillus has been
+discovered which is supposed to cause the disease and there is evidence
+that this may be carried by a mosquito or fly, but until the discoveries
+of the doctors, sent out by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine,
+are published, it is premature to give an opinion. Up to the present
+many remedies have been prescribed without success. There is no small
+pox and little phthisis, and it is interesting to learn that
+appendicitis is unknown in Africa. Rupture is very common among the
+natives and venereal diseases are frequent.
+
+As I was destined to become well acquainted with the _Croix rouge_, the
+hospital for Europeans, I will describe this institution later. On the
+reverse slope of the central hill of Boma are the quarters of the army,
+the Force Publique. The soldiers are fine looking fellows with a very
+pretty uniform; blue wide cut breeches to the knee, the legs and feet
+being bare, blue shirt with red facings and belt, and a red fez. They
+are armed with Albini rifles, a very strong weapon which will stand any
+amount of rough usage. Everything is scrupulously clean and the married
+quarters especially look very comfortable. Each couple has a room fitted
+with bed, table and chairs. They are recruited from all over the country
+and the service is so popular that in many parts far more men volunteer
+to serve than are required. The force does not exceed 13,600 in number
+and is recruited for long or short service.
+
+The prison is situated on the plateau in an open, airy place. The
+building is constructed of iron plates and the separate cells and rooms
+are lofty and clean. There are one or two Europeans here who have been
+sentenced for theft or for cruelty to natives, for the State is
+determined that all its subjects should be well treated. These are of
+course kept entirely separate from the natives. Only the natives who
+have been sentenced to more than one year are sent here and then after a
+time they are forwarded to the penal settlements. Some are cannibals,
+but most are thieves, and all wear light chains. It is somewhat warm
+walking about Boma but there is no alternative, for there are no
+carriages and only a horse or two for the Governor General. The State
+regulates very strictly the importation of arms. Permission has to be
+obtained from the Governor General before any fire arms can be landed;
+then each one is stamped on the butt with the Star of the State and a
+number which is registered. If anyone in the country wishes to purchase
+a weapon from another, both buyer and seller have to obtain permission
+from the Governor General. These laws are very excellent for they
+effectually keep modern weapons out of the hands of the natives. Having
+complied with the regulations and declared our ammunition, our rifles
+and guns are restored to us with pretty little souvenir marks on the
+butts. We next apply for a special licence to shoot big game, and this
+is promised, but as it takes time to prepare will be sent up country
+after us.
+
+The import duly on alcohol is very heavy and runs up to 47 per cent. _ad
+valorem_ and no still of any kind is permitted to be set up in the
+country. Beyond Matadi indeed, special permission has to be obtained
+before Europeans can carry any spirituous liquors, and then they have to
+declare that it is not for sale to the natives. Heads of commercial
+houses are made responsible for the observance of this law by their
+employés and the State officials themselves are only permitted to have
+three litres of spirits each month, while absinthe is entirely
+prohibited. Every white man, however, is given one litre of red wine
+each day as a ration and there seems to be no limit to the amount of
+beer which may be drunk, except its great price, for a bottle of lager
+costs 3 francs at Leopoldville and twice that amount higher up the
+river.
+
+It is indeed becoming apparent that the Government is a veritable parent
+and a stern one also. However, as we promise to be good boys we are
+permitted to carry a few cases of whisky and wine--after paying the
+duty--to act as _medical comforts_. in case of sickness. These medical
+comforts are also a feature of the State, each white being allowed a
+bottle or two of champagne and port every three months. Every official
+indeed receives much kindness and consideration from the State but is
+severely punished any lapse of duty. The whites are fined for
+carelessness or negligence, by stopping their pay for a certain number
+of days, and for serious offences any official may be revocated, when he
+will perhaps lose six months' or even a years' pay. Offences against the
+penal laws are of course punished by imprisonment.
+
+An excellent institution in Boma is the _colonie scolaire_ where
+foundlings are reared and educated. Orphans, deserted children,
+half-castes, all are received and trained for some useful purpose, some
+entering the army, some engaging on the plantations, some becoming
+servants to the officials.
+
+It is impossible to form any idea of the Congo native in Boma, for the
+blacks are of very different nationalities. Natives from Lagos,
+Sierra-Leone, Portuguese and French territory, all are attracted by the
+high wages to be earned in the town. Indeed at present most of the
+positions of responsibility, requiring a fair education, are held by
+foreign blacks, for very few true Congolese can be trusted. The personal
+servants we engaged were thus all foreigners in the State service. Two
+rejoiced in the names of Chikaia and Jean, and acted as _boys_. _i.e._ as
+valets, butlers and general servants while Luembo was cook, and Mavunga,
+washerman. Each one had a formal contract of five articles signed by us,
+by a delegate for the Governor General, and by the Judge of Première
+Instance, whose duty it was to see the contract was not broken. The
+State indeed, superintends everything even to the finding and engaging
+of private servants for travellers. The wages earned by these boys are
+very much higher than servants receive in India or China. The cook was
+paid 35 francs and the others 25 francs per month and all found.
+
+The Customs, the Post Office, and the Land Office, are all conveniently
+situated in one building on the beach near to the landing pier. In the
+latter, all the landowners in the State are registered, careful maps
+being prepared showing the extent and position of each plot of land. The
+land laws are very simple. The villages are the absolute freehold
+property of the natives, and are registered in the names of the Chiefs.
+Vacant lands as usual are the property of the State and the Chartered
+Companies, Missionaries, and Traders, as a rule, are annual leaseholders
+but the lease is always renewed if the conditions on which it is granted
+are observed.
+
+On Sunday we lunched with the Governor General, Mr. Gohr, the Director
+of Justice--who at present is in the unenviable position of having many
+critics in Europe, usually imperfectly informed of the details and
+evidence laid before the judges--Mr. Vandamme, who knows everyone and
+everything connected with the State, Commandant and Madame Sillye, Judge
+and Madame Webber, and some others. Afterwards, Mr. Webber, the Judge of
+the Court of Première Instance, who is an excellent pianist, gives us
+proof of his talent. This is the last pleasant music we are fated to
+hear for many a month, for nothing but concertinas and gramophones are
+found in the interior.
+
+[Illustration: THE CATARACTS RAILWAY NEAR MATADI.]
+
+Having obtained bundles of permits to do various things, and arranged
+for letters and parcels to be sent after us into the interior, we left
+Boma on the morning of July 19th for Matadi in the _Leopoldville_.. The
+Congo just above Boma somewhat resembles the Highlands of Scotland, and
+the similarity was emphasised by the fact that it was raining hard.
+The hills were bare of trees, the current ran rapidly, forming
+whirlpools, while many sleepy crocodiles lazily flopped into the water
+as we passed. After ascending some twenty miles, the river turns sharply
+to the right and runs between cliffs which descend sheer into the water,
+forming a narrow chasm not more than half a mile broad. As the whole of
+the immense volume of water in the Congo has to pass through this gorge,
+it is enormously deep and the current is very rapid. The depth has not
+been accurately ascertained, but it is certainly 500 feet, if not more,
+and the flow of the water is at the rate of nearly ten knots an hour, so
+that the smaller steamers cannot ascend at all, and the larger only
+creep slowly up.
+
+[Illustration: THE RAILWAY STATION AT MATADI.]
+
+Matadi is soon after in sight. It is built on the south side of the
+Congo valley, for, as a glance at the map will explain, the State owns
+both banks at this point, but further up, the river becomes the frontier
+with the French Congo. Matadi is an ancient--if the word may be used in
+connection with the Congo at all--settlement, constructed at the point
+where navigation on the river is interrupted by cataracts and rapids for
+some two hundred miles until smooth water is reached again at Stanley
+Pool. A caravan route runs from Matadi to Leopoldville, and it was
+during the march of twenty days over the mountains that in the early
+days, so much trouble was occasioned by the native porters. All this is
+abolished now by the railway. The town itself stands on the side of a
+steep hill and consists of narrow streets paved with cobbles. Here as
+usual in the Congo, man is restricted to his primeval method of
+locomotion. Two iron piers jut into the stream and at their ends the
+European steamers discharge their cargoes into the railway trucks
+alongside. High up on the hill stands a capacious stone structure, the
+house of the Commissioner of the Matadi District, Mr. De Rache, with
+whom we dine, after arranging to leave by the train which starts next
+day. The distance to be traversed is 220 miles and the fare is £8 each
+1st. class and £1 second for the boys. Besides this, baggage over a
+hundred kilos, is charged at the rate of one franc a kilo, which is
+probably the highest rate paid for railway travelling in the world. Our
+fares indeed cost us about £80.
+
+Early in the morning of the 20th, we leave Matadi. The train consists of
+two engines, two open covered carriages for the second class passengers,
+who are mostly natives, a saloon and baggage wagon. The gauge is a very
+narrow one, so space is all-important, but the man who designed the
+chairs in the saloon must have exercised the most fiendish ingenuity to
+make them as uncomfortable as possible. There are six on each side,
+arranged in pairs with a small bracket table in between, and each one is
+on a pivot. The back is straight upright and the seat is of cane,
+cone-shaped, the highest point being in the centre. Now as the curves
+and gradients of the line are very sharp indeed, it is necessary to hold
+fast the whole time, to prevent slipping on to the floor. If one puts a
+foot on the opposite seat to steady oneself, it at once revolves,
+leaving the leg in mid air. However, we fix ourselves in as well as
+possible and enjoy the magnificent scenery. For a few hundred yards the
+line runs along the valley of the Congo and a good view of the lowest
+cataract is obtained, the brown water dashing over the rocks and
+throwing up spray which is converted into brilliant jewels by the
+youthful sun not yet an hour old. Then turning sharply to the right, the
+train runs up the valley of the Posu, a mountain torrent which rushes
+and roars through a narrow defile. Snorting angrily, the engines climb
+up this steep gradient, cross the river by an iron bridge and then
+groaning under the brakes, slide down into another valley. The main
+direction however, is upwards, and as the country opens out below, one
+gets a first impression of the enormity and grandeur of Central Africa.
+As far as the eye reaches, are ranges of hills, the Palabala Mountains
+crowned by a great cone which appears first on one side then the other,
+as we cork-screw our way up. The line indeed is a marvel of engineering
+construction, for a most difficult piece of country is traversed without
+a single tunnel and with very few cuttings and embankments. The length
+of the railway is, of course, very much greater than a straight line
+would be between the same points, for it frequently countermarches
+backwards and forwards up a hill side, and after a detour of perhaps a
+quarter of a mile, comes back to the same place, but thirty or forty
+feet higher up. The company which undertook the task of building the
+line met with many difficulties, but finished it at a cost of £3,000,000
+and many native lives. It was built between the years 1891 and 1897 and
+the workmen were recruited from Senegal and the British Colonies of
+Africa. Frequent stops are necessary for the engines to drink and gain
+their second winds, for their work here is very arduous. After two or
+three hours, however, a plateau is reached and the line runs for miles
+through dense forests of palms, acacias and _parasol_ trees (native
+Motumbi). The name exactly describes these trees, for the branches are
+arranged like the ribs, and the leaves spread out and form the covering
+of the sunshade.
+
+Between the belts of forests the country is covered with coarse grass,
+six or seven feet high, dotted here and there with palms. No vestige of
+animal life is visible and only a few natives who are engaged on the
+railway. These inhabit villages near at hand, formed of huts built of
+reeds or bamboo and thatched with grass. The men wear a loin cloth only,
+but the women are wrapped in a plain piece of richly coloured cloth
+which reaches from the neck to the ankle leaving the arms and feet bare.
+This is evidently a simple length of stuff some three or four feet wide
+and, to the masculine eye at least, its method of support remains a
+mystery, for no trace of button, hook or pin is apparent. Their faces
+are of the negroid type with broad noses and thick lips and the figures
+of the women approach the shape of an S reversed thus [backwards S] and
+are similar to those which our American cousins have so largely
+developed. The men are as a rule thin and tall with very long legs and
+all appear to have only small arches to their feet. On the lower Congo
+however, there are many foreigners and several other types are visible.
+As far as one can judge by the railway cuttings, the soil on the plateau
+is coarse sand and gravel containing iron and quite unsuitable for
+agricultural purposes under such a hot sun. The air however, as we
+approach Tumba, about 2000 feet above sea level, is dry and fresh and at
+4 p.m. we halt there for the night.
+
+We are met by Commandant Delhaz, the Commissaire of the Cataracts
+District, who kindly places a bungalow at our disposal for the night and
+shows us round the settlement. There is only a small native village
+here, but large barracks consisting of lines of clean, clay huts
+constructed by the soldiers. Tumba is indeed an important military
+centre and here again the appearance of the troops is very fine as they
+march to the strains of the band which renders snatches from _Faust_,
+_Carmen_ and other well known airs with a few native variations. A farm
+has been established in the neighbourhood to feed the garrison and an
+automobile road is in course of construction.
+
+Next morning, we dress by candle light and make a hasty breakfast, in
+the midst of which, at 6 a.m., reveille sounds and the troops assemble
+in the square in front of the Residency. Half an hour afterwards, the
+train starts, and having perched ourselves on the summits of the seats,
+we soon reach Sonna Gongo the half-way house for travellers of the
+future. Here is a depot for locomotives and carriages and wooden hotels
+are being constructed to accommodate travellers who, after August, will
+stop here for the night instead of at Tumba.
+
+Leaving Sonna Gongo, the line rapidly searches for a lower level and the
+view is magnificent, as a great endless expanse of land is unfolded.
+Here and there are banks of smoke caused by the veldt fires and often
+close to the railway the high dry grass has been lighted by a chance
+spark from an engine, and is burning furiously. We now zigzag down hill
+instead of up and far beneath, can be seen the thin line of rails
+glistening in the sun like fillets of silk. Having reached this level,
+we plunge through inviting looking forests at one time full of
+elephants, buffaloes and other game, but practically deserted now save
+by monkeys and parrots.
+
+Soon after the train stops at a station where the natives have assembled
+to sell fruit and kwanga, a kind of bread made from the flour of the
+manioc root and the chief article of native diet. It consists chiefly of
+starch and is not unpleasant when fresh and toasted. The natives
+however, prefer all food in a high stage of decomposition and it is some
+time before the very smell of it ceases to make one feel ill. To see
+them eating kwanga fish or the flesh of elephants, monkeys, antelopes or
+other animals generally both rotten and raw is most disgusting and
+brings home the fact sharply that man here is of a very low type.
+
+The oranges the natives sell are very acid, more resembling grape-fruit
+than the orange of Florida, but the bananas are as good as any in the
+world and the pine apples--three of which can be bought for half a
+franc--are equal to the finest hot-house variety.
+
+[Illustration: THE STEAMER _FLANDRE_.]
+
+The line now descends again until it reaches a flat hot, sandy and
+uninteresting plain across which it runs absolutely straight for seven
+miles until it reaches Kinshasa on the South bank of Stanley Pool. A few
+miles further on, is the rail head, Leopoldville. Like everything else
+in the Congo, this town has been arranged and built for practical use.
+The railway runs along the beach so as to facilitate the loading and
+unloading of the steamers of the upper river, and in a very short time
+all our baggage is taken from the train and carried straight on board
+the _Flandre_ where we find cabins booked for us. This is an excellent
+arrangement and saves much trouble, for although the steamer does not
+sail for two days, passengers are allowed to live on board while in
+port. Indeed it is very necessary, for there are no hotels in the town,
+and no accommodation for visitors except a few rooms in the commercial
+houses.
+
+Some traits of the native's character were now to be demonstrated to us.
+His main idea always is, to do as little work as possible and he will
+often take the greatest trouble in his effort to accomplish this object.
+Each native endeavoured to put his load as near the gangway as possible
+which was soon blocked and then he had to come back, hoist the package
+on his head again and carry it to its proper place. Although this
+performance took place every day, unless an officer was constantly on
+the watch, the foolish fellows in their attempts to shirk duty brought
+upon themselves extra work. The cabins were unfurnished, for everyone
+carries his own bed on the Congo, and most also their own tent. It was
+therefore necessary to unpack a bed. Here was a difficulty. All the bags
+and boxes were carefully numbered by the Army and Navy Stores and the
+invoice no doubt sent to my London address but I left before it arrived,
+and there was no possibility of discovering which number meant bed.
+Seizing a likely looking bale, the boys unlace it, and find a part of a
+tent, and a second attempt brings to light another part of a tent. It is
+now growing dark and a light is necessary, but in which of these seventy
+odd cases is the lamp? Not knowing the native mind, I explain that it is
+necessary to hurry and find the bed before dark. This evidently conveys
+no meaning at all to the boys, for in the first place it was not their
+bed and so it mattered nothing to them, and in the second, they had
+never hurried before in their lives, and could not do so now, even if
+they wished. Lacing the first bales up slowly and deliberately, they
+open another and find a canvas bath and washhandstand. These are at any
+rate useful, and encouraged by success we try again and come across
+hand-irons and starch. At length we find a thing like a large concertina
+which is really a folding bed with pillows and blankets, complete. By
+great good luck a mosquito curtain is then found and the steward kindly
+lends a candle.
+
+Hot, sticky, tired and cross we prepare for our first meal on a Congo
+steamer. It consisted of a soup of mystery, chicken, which had been
+washed in the river close to a group of natives bathing and a goat,
+killed an hour before dinner, whose flesh was thrown quivering into the
+pot. However, there was some bread and tinned peaches and it was no use
+being fastidious in Central Africa. This was washed down with the
+regulation half litre of red wine, a kind of claret which is quite
+drinkable and some native coffee which had a delicate and fine aroma,
+but was badly made.
+
+The captain--as indeed are nearly all the officers of the river
+steamers--was a Scandinavian and spoke English very well. He explained
+that the ship was not very clean or inviting-looking, which was the
+truth, but as the lower deck was lumbered up with the horses of
+Commandant Sillye and was swarming with natives, it was only to be
+expected.
+
+Then to bed, but not to sleep, for the boys to save themselves trouble,
+had not fixed the mosquito net properly. In my innocence I merely
+ordered them to do it and had not stood by and watched. It is indeed
+necessary always to see that the native does as he is told, for the
+moment one's back is turned, he is eating if there is anything rotten
+enough at hand to tempt him and if not, he quietly goes to sleep. Even
+these State servants who speak the native language and also a kind of
+French, really live the lives of animals, for they eat, drink, and sleep
+if left alone and only work when they are shown how, and watched all the
+time.
+
+The result was that I spent a most horrible night, for the mosquitoes
+were terribly hostile and evidently recognised a new European with some
+healthy blood. In the morning, my head, which I had had shaved in the
+Congo fashion, was covered with large bumps and face, neck, hands and
+wrists were all blotches. It was therefore with little appetite that I
+sat down to a breakfast of bread, dutch cheese, curious tinned butter
+and weak coffee without milk. Little however, did I think then that in
+six short months a Congo steamer would seem like a first class hotel, so
+entirely is everything altered by comparison.
+
+[Illustration: CATARACTS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Higher Congo.
+
+
+Next day we make a formal call on Mr. Mahieu, Inspecteur d'Etat of the
+Congo State, whose headquarters are at Leopoldville. He is a very busy
+man with a multitude of duties, for the paternal system is continued all
+through the State and the most trivial matters are always referred to
+the highest official in the neighbourhood. As we are to lunch at the
+Residency, we do not stay long, but take a ride with Commandant and Mme.
+Sillye on four of the horses the former purchased at Dakar. Although a
+little stiff after their holiday of a month, they have not been
+otherwise affected by their sea voyage and two days in the train. Along
+the beach are many steamers charging and discharging and others on the
+slips being repaired or partly built. These steamers are all brought out
+in sections and put together on the beach. They are flat bottomed, are
+driven by stern wheels and only draw three or four feet of water. They
+all burn wood, and special depots are formed at intervals on the rivers
+where stores of this fuel are collected. Should however, a steamer run
+short, it is only necessary to stop and send the crew ashore with knives
+for the banks are lined with forest.
+
+Leaving the beach we ride through avenues of palms and mango trees to
+higher ground, whence a beautiful view can be obtained of Stanley Pool.
+This is really a part of the river about sixteen miles wide, shut in by
+hills on each side, but its size is not apparent from the water itself,
+as a great number of islands cut the stream into numerous narrow
+channels. Towards the south, the river narrows again and at this point
+is the uppermost of the cataracts, the water hurling itself against the
+rocks in its efforts to escape and recoiling in spray high into the air.
+From just below Leopoldville all the way to Matadi, the river indeed
+rushes down narrow gorges, but above, for nearly a thousand miles, it is
+navigable for steamers. On a hill above the rapid, is a large tree under
+which Stanley pitched his tent and which still bears his name.
+
+Many native villages exist near Leopoldville, consisting of huts formed
+of wooden frames and thatched with grass. There are no plantations or
+factories here but great numbers of natives are at present employed in
+road making and in constructing a new slip for launching the steamers.
+Evidently our little party gives rise to much comment for several of
+the natives have probably never seen a horse before, and a cavalcade of
+four of these strange animals is something entirely new. On our way back
+to the ship we pass down the main street in which are the administrative
+offices, the mess, the doctors' and other private houses and close to
+the beach, the Residency, over which flies the State flag and in front
+of which patrols a sentry. At first one thought the sentry in front of
+the chief official's house in each town, was merely a symbol of
+authority as in Europe, afterwards however, it becomes apparent that the
+system of Government in the Congo is based on absolute uniformity. Every
+Post, however big or small, has its State flag and every chief official,
+from the Governor to the chief of a Wood Post, has a sentry at his door.
+Each morning at sunrise the flag is hoisted, while the guard presents
+arms and every evening at sunset it is lowered with like ceremony.
+Indeed, the whole system is military, for everyone rises, works, eats
+and sleeps at the command of the clarion. It is a custom at most
+official and private parties in the Congo, to hand round port wine and
+cigars before sitting down to table. At first this seemed a strange kind
+of _aperative_., but soon the glass of port became very agreeable after
+the morning's work.
+
+Ten or twelve guests were assembled on the verandah when we arrived, and
+soon Mr. Armarni joined the group. He is an Italian, an ex-naval officer
+of distinction and now Commissaire du Roi of the Congo, a position which
+ranks with, but after, that of Governor General. By a simple and
+practical device, the relative rank of all the Administrative and
+Military officials can be determined at a glance. Each wears a blue
+gauntlet on each wrist and forearm over the white sleeve of his coat and
+affixed on this are a number of gold bands. A captain of a river
+steamer, perhaps has three or four bands, a Chef de Poste, four or five,
+a Commissaire of a Zone or District, seven or eight, an Inspecteur
+d'Etat, nine or ten, and the Governor General, eleven. In order however,
+to economise space and perhaps to facilitate counting, when more than
+three stripes are worn, a broad strip is substituted which corresponds
+to the original three. Thus an official with five stripes wears one
+broad and two narrow ones, while the Governor General wears three broad
+stripes and two narrow ones. The chief decoration, the order of the
+Lion, can only be gained by Belgians, but the Congo Star is given to all
+after a certain term of service. Those who hold purely civil
+appointments such at Judges, Secretaries and Directors of Transport,
+wear no stripes at all.
+
+At 2.30 p.m. a bugle sounded and a chattering throng of natives hurried
+past the Inspector's house towards the beach to resume work, which is
+always interrupted for three hours at 11.30 a.m. during the heat of the
+day. In order to feed these people and the soldiers of the Force
+Publique at Leopoldville, about a ton and a half of kwanga is prepared
+every day from the manioc grown in the villages around, and every able
+bodied native has to contribute his or her quota of work. Each person
+indeed is supposed to work for at least forty hours each month, and
+whether engaged on roads, buildings, or other public work, or in
+collecting rubber, wood for the steamers, or kwanga for food, is paid at
+the current rate. The principle of the system of Government, although
+entirely novel, is undoubtedly sound and suited to the country and the
+condition of the native. The whole territory is divided into two great
+parts, the lands of the native chiefs and the vacant lands called here
+the Domaine Privé. The Government has however, disposed of part of these
+to Concessionary Companies in this sense, that the Companies have the
+right to exploit all the products of the forest in these areas. Other
+portions have been leased to Missions, to Commercial Houses and to
+private people. The Government collects the rubber, ivory, food stuffs,
+and other produce from the Domain Lands and with the proceeds,
+constructs roads, navigates the rivers, maintains the Government and
+army and generally develops the country and civilises the natives.
+
+Trading relations are formed with the chiefs as follows: Agents are sent
+into their districts with brass wire, cloth, salt, beads, or other
+things likely to attract the natives, and these are exchanged for
+rubber, ivory, gum copal, manioc, fish, fowl or other produce; thus the
+value of rubber, ivory or any other substance is determined in terms of
+brass wire, cloth or salt and so its value in sterling. Similarly, the
+value of native labour is discovered and the native paid accordingly.
+The brass wire is cut into lengths called mitakos, this form of currency
+having been introduced by the late Sir H.M. Stanley. The length of the
+mitako, and so its value, varies in different parts of the country. At
+present there seems to be no limit to the amount of wire cut into
+mitakos, but as the natives use great quantities to make brass rings for
+the arms and legs of both sexes, it is difficult to say to what extent
+the currency is being debased. The pay of skilled labour here is high,
+and unskilled workers receive about as much as similar labourers in
+India. The natives pay no taxes in money or its equivalent, but instead
+are compelled to do this 40 hours' work per month for the State.
+
+In the afternoon we cross the neck of Stanley Pool and visit
+Brazzaville, the capital of the French Congo. The town is situated close
+to the beach, but the Government offices are high up on a hill above.
+Having found the Secretariat, we explain that we are British travellers
+and desire to pay our respects to the Governor. The Secretary telephones
+as we wait in the office and presumably the Governor asks whether we
+have introductions and what we want, for the answer goes back _Non, ils
+sont venus, Pop!!!_ However, the Governor, Mr. Gentil, who has spent
+many years in the Congo, receives us very kindly, offers to help us with
+steamers on the river, gives us some letters of introduction to French
+officials on the Ubangi and permits to shoot game. Every where indeed
+one meets with kindness, help and consideration from the officials in
+Africa, which is in marked contrast to the hide bound system of
+formalities which it is necessary to observe and maintain in Europe.
+
+[Illustration: STEAMERS AND DOCKS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.]
+
+A great blowing of the steamer's whistle now takes place, for it is
+getting late and it is impossible to navigate the Congo after sunset.
+The captain is therefore becoming anxious, but enough light remains to
+see the buoys and we reach Leopoldville soon after 6 p.m. We have
+arranged to dine at the Mess, an excellent institution wherein all the
+Europeans of every rank, except the very highest officials, sit down
+together. The Commandant of the Force Publique, the Commandant of the
+Port, the Directors of Transports and Posts, and the Doctors, all
+take their dinner with the working artisans. Altogether about 130 men
+attend the mess, where the cooking and service is excellent while each
+has a small bottle of wine and a cup of coffee. By this means, every man
+is ensured good wholesome food, and the necessity of restaurants, in
+which indiscriminate drinking might take place, is avoided.
+
+Next morning, July 23rd. the _Flandre_ leaves Leopoldville and steams to
+Kinshasa where we stop and land. Here as usual the keynote is
+development. Roads are being made, avenues of palms, mangoes and pine
+apples planted and store houses, factories and plantations constructed.
+At the coffee factory here, the beans are extracted from the shells,
+sorted into sizes and qualities and packed in bags. Many kinds of coffee
+have been planted in the Congo, but none are equal to the wild variety
+found in the forest, which is as good as any in the world when properly
+made. Near at hand is a brick field, where the bricks are made in metal
+moulds, the clay being forced in by long levers. They are not made as
+quickly as those fashioned by a machine but the process is a great
+improvement on the old-fashioned method of brick making in wooden
+moulds. It is already apparent that beer is regarded as a luxury here so
+we order some dozens at three francs a bottle and having taken some
+photos return to the ship.
+
+On the beach were some fine elephant tusks which have been collected by
+the agents of the _Société Anonyme Belge_. When a native finds a pair of
+tusks in the territory of the company, the State takes one as a royalty
+and the company buys the other for a certain quantity of cloth. This
+only represents a fraction of the value in Europe, but is gladly
+accepted by the native who has no use for it except to make war horns.
+Indeed in the old days, the chiefs used to form a kind of fence round
+their huts by sticking the points in the ground, little thinking that in
+another part of the world, not even the millionaire of fiction ever
+constructed such an expensive railing. Then the Arab slave raiders came
+and stole both the native women and the ivory, so that the white man who
+gives beautiful coloured cloth for these useless elephants' tusks is
+regarded as a very generous trader. In the afternoon the _Flandre_
+continued her journey threading her way between the numerous islands in
+Stanley Pool, and finally tied up to the bank of the island of Bamu
+which is French territory. This island enjoys the distinction of being
+the only one in the Congo which has an owner, for all the rest are
+declared to be no man's land by international treaty. It is reputed to
+be full of game, and we go ashore to look for it, but return without
+seeing anything. As the mosquitoes prevent all sleep in the cabin, we
+arrange to make up a bed on deck and obtain a better night's rest, for
+it is comparatively cool here in the evening in the open.
+
+I am very anxious to bathe next morning, but the captain strongly
+disadvises for the currents are very strong here, and the river is full
+of crocodiles. In the midst of breakfast we are startled by the report
+that the ship is on fire, and smoke is seen to be issuing from the fore
+hatch, under which much of the wood used for fuel is stored. None of the
+Europeans however, are more excited than the natives, who, leisurely and
+with due deliberation, hand up buckets of water. Nothing indeed could
+make a native hurry. The captain seems a trifle upset, and states that
+it may be necessary to run on a rock, and thus make a hole in the bows
+and flood the hold. This seems to be rather a desperate remedy, but no
+one shows the slightest interest. This appeared curious at the time;
+since however, it has transpired that fires in the holds are of common
+occurrence, and that as the ships are all of iron, they usually burn
+themselves out without harming anything. Soon after however, the captain
+with an alarmed look, rushes up on deck and said that a terrible crime
+or a great mistake had been committed. It appeared that by some error,
+our cases of beer and some others belonging to Commandant Sillye had
+been left on the beach at Kinshasa. Immediately we anchored last night a
+native boatswain, or capita, was sent with six men in a canoe to fetch
+them and ought to have returned by midnight. Nothing however, was heard
+of the boat until now when the capita appeared and told a harrowing
+story. He found the cases all right and started to return across the
+river, but as it began to blow hard, he thought it better to make for
+land and wait until the morning before trying to find the ship. He
+succeeded in landing on the island of Bamu and soon after a white man
+appeared with some Senegalese soldiers and demanded to know what was in
+the cases. He explained, when the white man fired and killed all the
+crew, but he ran away and escaped. The affair seemed serious so Lord
+Mountmorres and Commandant Sillye left for Brazzaville to discover the
+truth, while I stayed on the ship to superintend the landing of our
+cargo if the fire extended.
+
+Soon after the Commandant of the Port of Leopoldville arrived in a
+steamer and asked if we wanted assistance as another ship had run on the
+rocks higher up and sunk and he was hastening to rescue any possible
+survivors. Sunday, July 24th indeed, seemed to be a veritable day of
+horrors, but still no one appeared at all excited. By midday the fire in
+the forehold was extinguished and thus one danger was removed. Later in
+the afternoon just before sunset, an immense flock of ducks and geese
+crossed the river, but as they were flying nearly a hundred feet up in
+the air, it was impossible to shoot them. Soon after Mountmorres and
+Sillye returned and reported they had found all the crew safe, except
+one man who had probably deserted and had also brought back the cases of
+beer. The white man was a French officer of Customs, who had naturally
+thought the crew of the canoe were engaged in smuggling and had fired
+blank cartridges to frighten them. So passed an eventful day with much
+smoke but little fire. It was indeed becoming apparent that the Congo
+was a true land of exaggerations. On all sides were great hills, great
+plains, great forests, great rivers, great beasts, great trees, and
+great lies.
+
+Next day we continued our course up Stanley-Pool, which meant threading
+our way up narrow channels between uninteresting sandbanks covered with
+forest or grass. In the distance could be seen the hills forming the
+boundaries of the Pool and at its upper end _Dover Cliffs_ so called
+from their resemblance to that part of the English coast. About midday
+we sighted the _Anversville_, the vessel which was supposed to have been
+sunk, comfortably lying on a sand bank, and the _Brugesville_ which had
+gone to her assistance, also resting on the same bank. One of the
+passengers came off to the _Flandre_ and told us that no one was hurt
+and all the baggage was safe and that he had heard we had been burnt
+out, attacked by natives and all killed. Truly the Congo is a wonderful
+place.
+
+As the _Flandre_ moors we decide to go ashore hunting. Within a few
+yards of the bank is the lair of a hippopotamus and the spoor of
+elephants. It is however, very difficult walking, for patches of land
+are covered with long grass seven or eight feet high and the rest is
+bog. After struggling along for a few minutes, I hear a curious noise
+like a very asthmatic fog horn not above five yards away. Nothing is
+however, visible, for the grass forms a complete cover. Again the grunt
+with a suspicious after-sniff and at the same moment Chikaia, who is
+carrying my gun snaps his fingers--the usual sign to indicate game--and
+beckons me to follow. I endeavour to do so, and at once sink in the bog
+up to the knees, but fortunately keep my rifle dry. By clutching the
+grass, I get out and we follow the spoor of the hippo as rapidly as
+possible. This is very clearly marked, for the grass has been recently
+thrust aside and there are great holes in the soft mud over a foot wide
+and deep, made by the great feet of the beast. These holes were in pairs
+lying close together, showing that the hippo was galloping as he passed
+and unfortunately they led straight to the river.
+
+Next day we leave the Pool and enter a part of the river called the
+Channel. Here there are no islands and both banks are visible all the
+time, the width not being more than a mile in some places. A low range
+of hills covered with acacias or coarse grass, exists on each side. As
+usual, we stop at a Wood Post to take fuel on board. This is cut in logs
+three or four feet long and stacked in heaps about the same in width and
+height. Sticks are placed in the ground connected by lines at the
+required height and the logs are laid in rows until the space is filled.
+The result is a cubic yard of wood known in the Congo as a _bras_, but
+the bras differs in size and price considerably, in some cases the cost
+being 5 mitakos and in others double that amount. A native can easily
+collect a bras of wood in the forest and carry it to the bank in a day
+and in some of the Wood Posts fifty or sixty natives are employed. Even
+then however, the demand for wood by the big steamers is sometimes
+greater than the supply.
+
+At 6 p.m. every day the steamer stops for the night and makes fast to a
+tree on the bank. All the native passengers at once go ashore, light
+fires and arrange their beds for the night. They sleep on mats or with
+the whole body, and head also, wrapped up closely in rugs. Either their
+feet or heads are always within a few inches of the fire and their
+bodies radiate out like the spokes of a wheel. Until 9.30 p.m., however,
+when all lights on the steamer must be put out, a ceaseless chatter
+proceeds with an occasional angry discussion as the natives take their
+meal of kwanga, fish, and any odd piece of meat they can procure. It is
+a somewhat weird sight, the black forms showing dimly in the ruddy light
+of the fires under the trees. The bell on the steamer rings the command
+and everyone goes to bed, and then one appreciates the real silence of
+the equatorial forest which one has heard about at home. Within a few
+yards, hundreds of frogs commence to croak loudly and continue steadily,
+with a few pauses to breathe, until daybreak. Hundreds of monkeys
+screech shrilly in the trees and millions of mosquitoes hum steadily
+within an inch or two of one's ears. All manner of animal cries are
+heard in the forest and the hippos blow loudly as they rise to the
+surface to breathe. As a matter of fact, the noise at midnight in the
+forest, when every beast, bird and insect is busy hunting for food, is
+greater than at any other time, and at midday only, one enjoys
+comparative quiet when all the animal kingdom is asleep.
+
+[Illustration: THE AMERICAN MISSION HOUSE AT LEOPOLDVILLE.]
+
+One evening I went ashore with Chikaia for a stroll on the beach,
+carrying only a gun. We soon found a number of ducks and as they had
+never been fired at before probably, they were not scared away by the
+noise of the gun, but kept wheeling round and round overhead affording
+very easy shots. It would indeed have been easy to shoot them all. There
+was, however, no reason to do so and having collected a couple or two to
+make a welcome change from the daily goat of the steamer, we started
+back when a fine antelope-cheval rushed from the wood across the sandy
+beach towards the water. Chikaia at once became very excited and wished
+me to fire, but it was useless, as the beast was more than a hundred
+yards away. It was satisfactory to find the boy was a keen sportsman,
+even though he did not appreciate the different capacities of a gun and
+a rifle. However, I made a mental note never to go, even for a casual
+stroll in Africa, without both weapons.
+
+On returning to the ship, we hear that the Captain's boy has killed a
+hippo and that dozens of others are waiting to be shot. We therefore
+determine to try some shooting by moonlight and Chikaia is delighted
+when he sees the _gras_ as he calls my Lee-Metford come out of its case.
+It is a beautiful night with clear, cool air. Streams of silver flow
+from the moon on the water, while the palms tower high with majestic
+crowns. Here we are in the very midst of real nature and yet again it
+unpleasantly recalls the scenery of a theatre. It is indeed
+extraordinary with what accuracy scenic artists construct tropical
+scenes. The surroundings tend to make one sentimental and regret that
+this veritable garden of Eden should be exploited to make billiard balls
+and rubber tyres for automobiles and bicycles. The native also, instead
+of hunting elephant and hippos, eating his fill and sleeping, and eating
+again and sleeping again until the carcase has disappeared and then
+hunting again, now has to collect rubber juice and cut wood for an ugly
+looking steam flat. Such however, is civilisation in the Congo.
+
+Spoor of elephants and hippos abound and the grunt of the latter can
+frequently be heard, but they are not sitting up on their haunches
+waiting to be shot. The clear, shrill chirp of the sentry bird is indeed
+warning the big beasts that something strange is moving and we shall
+have to lie still for a long while probably before getting a chance at
+the great heads as they are raised from the water.
+
+After a walk of about a mile, we arrive at the place where the captain's
+boy was supposed to have killed the hippo. The truth was he had _fired
+at_ a beast who, as the spoor clearly showed, had walked calmly into the
+river and not a trace of blood could be seen. After a time, with
+practice perhaps, one will be able to gauge the truth from an ordinary
+Congo statement.
+
+Next day we reach the mouth of the Kasai, a large tributary which drains
+much of the Equatorial District of the Congo. Here is a State Post,
+Kwamouth, with a few well constructed houses and a Catholic Mission
+where pretty walking sticks with ivory handles can be purchased and
+where the Fathers make a few cigars from Congo tobacco which are not at
+all bad smoking. A little further up the river, is the deserted Catholic
+Mission of St. Marie which has evidently been at one time well arranged
+with a large manioc plantation and garden. Here however, the Sleeping
+Sickness appeared and the mortality was so heavy that the place was
+abandoned. The disease had no doubt existed before, but it was this
+terrible epidemic which first attracted the serious notice of Europeans.
+
+It is becoming clear that there are a great number of nationalities
+represented in the Congo. Most of the political and military
+appointments are held by Belgians, but there are many Italian military
+officers also. Nearly all the marine are Scandinavians and the language
+of the river is therefore, chiefly English, although every State
+official must speak a certain amount of French. A few Germans also hold
+appointments, and the trading houses are run chiefly by English and
+Dutch, while there are missionaries of several nationalities. In the
+army, orders are given in French, but on the ships and in the stations,
+the native is commanded in a kind of jargon based on the Bangala
+dialect. The Danish captain of a Congo steamer thus as a rule, speaks,
+besides his own language, English, French and Bangala and can make
+himself understood in all.
+
+On pay day, rolls of brass wire are cut up into mitakos, which become
+longer the higher one travels up the river, this arrangement having been
+introduced by Stanley and never altered. Here the mitako is 28
+centimetres long and it is worth 5 cents, while at Basoko it is 40
+centimetres long and worth 10 cents. The native crew are paid three
+mitakos for their food per day which would purchase twice as much
+kwanga as they could possibly eat. The capitas and wheelman are also
+paid monthly wages which vary with the nature of their work.
+
+By July 28th we have passed through the Channel into a portion of the
+river which is very wide and has the appearance of a great lake studded
+with islands. The banks are invisible, for the country here is
+absolutely flat and continues so for many hundreds of miles until the
+Province Orientale is reached. Between these islands, which are usually
+well wooded, we pass slowly up the river, for the current is still
+strong although the surface of the water appears absolutely still and
+the light glares as from a mirror. Some of the islands are however, only
+covered with grass and a herd of buffaloes on one come charging down to
+the river to drink. Unfortunately one of the passengers fires a kind of
+saloon rifle, which might possibly have killed a rabbit at twenty yards,
+and frightens them back. This is a great pity, for if we had had time,
+we could easily have bagged one or two and had some fresh beef for
+dinner.
+
+At midday on the 29th we reach Mopolenga and stop for wood. The land in
+the neighbourhood is well cultivated and manioc, sweet potatoes, bananas
+and pineapples flourish. The manioc plant has a green stem, reddish
+branches and green leaves arranged in clusters of six which turn
+downwards forming the shape of a parasol, evidently a popular, as it is
+an appropriate, pattern for vegetable life in this hot country. The root
+of the manioc yields the flour, which is made into kwanga and unless it
+is well boiled, is supposed to be very injurious. The animals here
+consist chiefly of monkeys, parrots and finches, but many ducks fly from
+a swamp near the water.
+
+In the afternoon we reach Bolobo, the head quarters of the Baptist
+Mission, which is presided over by Mr. Grenfell, a missionary who has
+resided for over twenty years in the Congo. He has taught the natives to
+make bricks and build houses and has erected a Mission Hall, a hospital
+and a printing house. The mission enclosure is well laid out with mango
+trees and other useful fruits and many fat ducks and fowls pass a
+contented existence there. Unfortunately Mr. Grenfell was not at home,
+but we were fortunate in finding Mr. Scrivener, another missionary, who
+has resided some years in Africa. He stated that the natives were
+emigrating from the District of Lake Leopold, which lies behind Bolobo
+and is Domain Land, because they were forced to collect rubber and were
+flogged if they refused. He had never himself seen a native who had been
+ill treated, but had been told so by natives. Asked whether the people
+were ever mutilated, Mr. Scrivener looked very surprised and answered
+"Oh no, there is nothing of that kind now!"
+
+Bolobo is very populous and many natives flocked down to the beach
+immediately the steamer arrived and at once held an outdoor market on
+the beach selling manioc, fish, clothes, pots of various kinds and other
+articles to the crew and passengers. A Congo flat fish of the perch
+family is found here, smoke dried and sold for food and is very good
+eating indeed.
+
+Two of the crew were _chicotted_. to-day by order of the captain. One had
+attacked another boy with a knife and wounded him and the other had
+stolen, and then falsely blamed another. The _chicotte_ is a plain
+strip of hippo hide and the punishment was administered publicly by the
+capita on the bridge of the steamer and did not appear to be more
+painful than an ordinary birching at a public school.
+
+At 10 p.m. we decide to take the big iron boat of the steamer and go
+hunting. The natives are exceedingly skilful and know all the likely
+places for hippo. They first paddle hard up stream and having arrived at
+the hunting ground allow the boat to drift down with the current in
+perfect silence. It is clear moonlight, but it is necessary to cover the
+fore sight of the rifle with white paper in order to see it clearly.
+After a time, up rises a great head with a great pant and there is just
+time for a shot before it sinks again. Hippos frequent shallow water and
+are indifferent swimmers. They walk about on the bottom and rise at
+intervals to breathe. It is thus impossible to know in which direction a
+beast will next appear or whether he will come up under the boat and
+capsize it. This night there were great numbers and we had excellent
+sport. One shot in the head is sufficient to kill a hippo which then
+sinks and the body does not rise again for some hours. One unfortunate
+animal was however, shot in the back and rearing straight up on his hind
+legs rushed for some yards in that attitude until a second shot in the
+head put him out of his misery.
+
+Next day we reach Lukolela, a Wood Post and telegraph station. The line
+runs along the bank all the way from Leopoldville to Coquilhatville and
+was very difficult to erect. A space had to be cleared in the forest
+nearly two hundred feet wide and the line erected in the centre on iron
+posts, so that any falling trees would not destroy it. At first, the
+elephants strongly resented these novel posts and frequently knocked
+them down as easily as if they had been nine pins, but have since become
+used to them. At Lukolela there is excellent teak wood which is
+fashioned into doors and windows and shipped to various places ready for
+building. The nights are quite cool, although we are near the Equator
+and the heat in the day time is not nearly as oppressive as it is at
+Aden or Shanghai in the summer. Cultivation is much more advanced here
+than in the lower Congo and the physique of the natives is remarkably
+fine.
+
+The navigation of the river here becomes very difficult, for the water
+is shallow at this season of the year and there are many sand banks
+which frequently change their position. Charts are therefore,
+practically useless and each skipper has to feel his way each voyage.
+Indeed, the whole time two boys sit on the bows of the vessel with long
+poles sounding the water and shouting out the depth. It is curious that
+when the vessel is travelling in shallow water, the engines at once go
+slow of their own accord. One of the engineers explained that this
+phenomena was produced by the difficulty the wheels experienced in
+dragging away, so to speak, the water from under the ship when there was
+little depth. Still the ships, frequently run on the banks, but as they
+are flat bottomed, are not usually injured. The method of mooring is
+very rudimentary although practical. One of the crew jumps overboard
+with a steel rope, swims ashore and makes it fast to a tree. All of them
+are expert swimmers and seem to enjoy their frequent dips, and as their
+clothes consist of a loin cloth only, they do not require to undress.
+
+On August 1st at sunset we reach Irebu, an exceedingly beautiful place.
+An avenue of palms stretches parallel to the river and about twenty
+yards from it the bank itself being fenced by white wooden rails. This
+leads to a large open square around which are the brick houses of the
+European officers. Beyond, along the river front, are more brick houses,
+the Mess and the Magazines, and gardens are laid out the whole length of
+the town. This is one of the large military training centres, where
+about a dozen officers prepare more than a thousand recruits for the
+Force Publique.
+
+In the evening the place was illuminated by very simple, but effective,
+means. Stakes were driven into the ground and on each was placed a tin
+which presumably had contained condensed milk. These were filled with
+palm oil and pieces of wood to serve as wicks. The mosquitoes here are
+very bad indeed and it is necessary to take quinine every day to
+counteract the effects of their poison.
+
+At daybreak next morning most of the troops were exercising in the
+square and their precision and manoeuvring were really marvellous. Any
+European colonel might indeed be proud to hear such a single click as
+his regiment shouldered arms. The officers state that the natives attend
+very carefully all the time for the word of command and act very quickly
+after it is given. The native corporals evidently make good instructors
+and the raw recruit is soon converted into a smart and responsible
+soldier. This military education is certainly the best that could be
+given to a savage; it teaches him punctuality, regularity, obedience and
+collective responsibility; it shows him how to build houses and keep
+them clean and it gives him an idea of justice for he knows he will be
+punished for wrong doing. The soldier therefore soon becomes an
+altogether different person and realises that he is no longer an
+animal-man living wild in the forest, but a soldier-man and a friend of
+the great _Bulamatadi_. who governs the country. What we may call the
+caste feeling has indeed contributed greatly to civilising the country.
+Anyone who is brought into direct contact with the whites as a soldier,
+a worker in the plantation or on the roads, soon feels that he is
+superior to the wild bushman and then becomes more attached to his new
+master than to his own cousins. It is rather amusing to hear the native
+domestics or _boys_. who probably rank higher than any other natives on
+the social ladder, speaking of the _indigenes_. with great contempt as
+though they were quite another and an inferior species. Speaking of
+_Bulamatadi_, it may be of interest to state the origin and meaning of
+the term--it means literally in the native tongue _one who breaks
+stones_. and was given to Stanley, when he blasted rocks to make roads
+the term being afterwards buried with him on his coffin. Since then it
+has been applied to all officials of the State and is used to connote
+anything and everything connected with the State. Thus the State side of
+the river is Bulamatadi, a State Post is Bulamatadi, a State steamer is
+Bulamatadi, anything indeed belonging to the State is Bulamatadi. White
+men traders and hunters, not State officials, are _mundellas_, but the
+native at once has a nick name for everyone which describes his chief
+characteristic. Lord Mountmorres usually wore long hunting boots and was
+named _big boots_. and as I wore eyeglasses, I became _double eyes_.
+
+We left Irebu on August 2nd and at once disturbed many crocodiles and
+hippos, which abound in this district. An unfortunate accident happened
+in the afternoon. One of the crew fell overboard and must have been
+drawn under the stern wheel and struck by a paddle, for he never
+re-appeared and no sign of the poor fellow could be found, although
+diligent search was made for a long time.
+
+Just before sunset a canoe comes alongside and fastens to the ship,
+although it is travelling at full speed. It is indeed wonderful to see
+the way the natives manipulate these narrow dug-outs not two feet wide.
+In this one were three fishermen with some fish which looked like trout
+for sale. At once a great clamouring takes place among the native
+passengers and it soon becomes plain that the chief fisherman was a good
+man of business. Having taken an empty bottle for one fish and a piece
+of cloth for another, he refused more of those articles and demanded
+either salt or mitakos for his goods. In a short time however, he had
+disposed of his cargo and paddled contentedly away.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVES OF THE UPPER CONGO.]
+
+The natives are very vain and take much trouble over their personal
+appearance. As their clothes are very simple this is concentrated on
+their tatooage and on their hair dressing. From a hopeless looking
+tangle of black tow a very pretty erection is created by the barbers who
+are of both sexes. Often the hair has five or six separate partings and
+quills or feathers are inserted into the ridges in between. All the
+women here wear a simple piece of cloth as they do in the Lower Congo
+and sometimes a plain leather belt is worn round the waist. The arms and
+legs are bare and covered with plain bangles made of mitakos. The women
+wear no hat of any kind, but the men ape the Europeans and appear in
+old helmets or straw hats. Both sexes are very clean personally, and
+bathe frequently in the river, but never dry themselves afterwards. The
+men keep on their loin cloths, but if they wear also shirts or trousers,
+take these off, while the women bathe in a white linen loin cloth and
+everyone afterwards pulls on his other clothes without drying. Many
+natives rub a red powder into the skin made from cam-wood and thus
+acquire a copper colour, while others paint their faces with various
+stripes of red, yellow or white. On the Congo however, where the natives
+are becoming civilised, this custom seems to be dying out.
+
+On August 3rd we cross the Equator marked by a post on one side of the
+river and the point of an island in the centre. Here used to be a
+settlement, but most of the people have moved higher up. There is still
+a Mission near the place and a good road runs along the bank between
+plantations of bananas and gardens to Coquilhatville which we reach in
+the afternoon.
+
+[Illustration: BOTANICAL GARDENS AT EALA.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+The Equator District.
+
+
+Coquilhatville, the capital of this important District is the largest
+town in the Upper Congo. The roads are formed by bamboos laid in rows,
+upon which sand and mud are placed the whole forming an effective
+pavement for foot passengers and no other is required for there are no
+carriages and only a few horses. All the officers don white uniforms
+with full dress, badges and medals, and together we proceed to make a
+formal call on Captain Stevens, the Commissaire of the District with
+whom is staying Mr. Malfeyt, Commissaire du Roi. Some of the officers
+take their dogs with them, which at once make a furious onslaught on
+the numerous cats of the Commissaire and have to be suppressed. Mgr.
+Derikx places a particularly pugnacious fox-terrier under the basket
+work of his chair the little animal being literally sat upon by the
+dignitary of the Church.
+
+The Residency is a large brick building situated on a low hill and
+raised above the ground, the space beneath being enclosed and
+loop-holed, thus forming a small fort. The gardens are particularly
+pretty and well kept. Beer is handed round and we sit chatting on the
+verandah until Mr. Grenfell, the head of the Baptist Mission, arrives.
+He has travelled up the river in the Mission Steamer from Bolobo and was
+on his way when we stopped at that place. As he has been in the Congo
+for more than twenty years, he knows the country well and thus speaks
+with authority. He thinks the system of Government excellent, but that
+it is administered better in the Lower than the Upper Congo, because
+there are not enough officials in the latter. He is convinced the
+population has greatly decreased on the riverside of the Bangala
+District, and attributes it chiefly to Sleeping Sickness for he cannot
+say if emigration to the French Congo has been extensive or not. No case
+of ill-treatment of natives has come to his notice during the last three
+years, but he thinks the State does not give them enough work to do. He
+has seen natives without hands, but does not believe that any atrocities
+have occurred for many years. Generally speaking, he thinks it would be
+better if the State acquired all the property of the Companies. Although
+he does not know of any definite cases of ill-treatment, he has heard
+reports and thinks there is "no smoke without fire." However, he is
+quite prepared to agree that a very little fire in the Congo makes a
+great deal of smoke. Altogether, Mr. Grenfell spoke very calmly, and is
+evidently not carried away by emotionalism or strong prejudice against
+the State.
+
+At Coquilhatville, as elsewhere in the State, the prisoners are given
+useful work to do. Near by a party were digging a hole by the roadway.
+They were chained together but the chain was so long that it did not
+hamper their movements. Two policemen were on guard, but the whole gang
+were evidently taking matters very easily.
+
+In the evening we dine with the Commissaire and a party of sixteen or
+eighteen, including many of our fellow travellers, Mr. Grenfell and Dr.
+Button, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who is here
+studying the Sleeping Sickness. Everyone we meet who has travelled in
+other countries and also visited the Congo, is astonished at the
+wonderful development of the place. It is indeed becoming more and more
+apparent that the State has gone ahead very fast and that the stress has
+been great, both for Europeans and natives. Probably, now the machine is
+fairly set rolling, it will proceed more steadily in the future.
+
+Next day we decide to leave the _Flandre_ and stay for a week or so at
+Coquilhatville. Commandant Ankström, the Adjoint Superieur to the
+Commissaire, kindly lends us his house and we at once move in, glad to
+leave the mosquitoes of the river and to sleep in a room once more.
+Everything in the house and garden is scrupulously clean and tidy,
+characteristics which I may add were found in nearly every Post and
+house in the whole country. The sanitary arrangements are the
+perfection of simplicity. There are no drains, but simple receptables
+which are emptied and cleaned every morning while carbolic acid is used
+liberally. This admirable system is carried out in every Post, however
+large or small, and I never once found it unobserved. The natives
+themselves are also very cleanly in their habits, so that although the
+heat is great and decomposition proceeds very rapidly, bad smells are
+absolutely unknown. Near the residency is a well kept farm and the
+mutton tasted particularly nice after the diet of goat on the steamer.
+
+The effect of the climate on my digestion is curious. In Europe all
+forms of starch and sugar give me indigestion and I have therefore to
+avoid bread, potatoes, jam, sugar and kindred substances. Here however,
+I have a craving for these things and never have indigestion. I mention
+this personal trait, because many other travellers in the tropics have
+often stated that they could march on rice and jam for days without
+desiring meat of any kind. No doubt the system is working at, so to
+speak, high pressure, but it is curious that a complete change in one's
+idiosyncrasies should take place even in the first month.
+
+On August 5th the _Flandre_ proceeds up the river, and we bid farewell
+to our travelling companions, who seem to have become old friends in the
+last six weeks. Everyone, is always most kind and courteous, and not
+only gives every information, but also the benefit of his experience,
+and thus affords much valuable assistance. The town of Coquilhatville
+consists of rows of brick houses standing in their own gardens and
+fronting on avenues. It may seem that one insists unnecessarily on the
+fact that the houses are brick in all the towns, a fact which the
+European would accept as a matter of course. The traveller however knows
+that in most tropical countries, wood is usually employed instead, as
+being easier to obtain and work. Indeed in the United States, the
+country seats of even the very wealthy are generally constructed chiefly
+of that substance. Bricks however, are by no means easily made in the
+Congo, for in many places the soil is very sandy and it is therefore
+difficult to make the brick bind. Again, lime is very scarce and all
+manner of substances are used to make mortar. Among these the ant hills
+are much in favour, for it has been observed that these structures which
+are often thirty feet high and in proportion great in diameter, never
+disintegrate in the heaviest rain. When dug out and mixed with sand
+their substance makes an excellent mortar. Again, the shells of oysters,
+which abound in some parts of the river are also used to make mortar
+with good results. The roofs are thatched with palm leaves wherever
+obtainable, and if well constructed are quite water tight. Glass windows
+are not much used, for as much air as possible is desirable and the
+verandahs are so broad that rain rarely enters. The openings are thus
+closed only by shutters or by wire gauze to keep out the numerous
+insects.
+
+Living here is very expensive. The usual money is the mitako, but the
+native likes salt and will sometimes take cloth if he fancies it. He is
+however, very independent, and on one occasion a native refused 14/- in
+cloth for a single duck. Fowls and eggs are about the same price as in
+the West End of London, but the latter are very scarce. Fruit is
+however, cheap, as it is abundant. Near the town is a large coffee and
+cocoa plantation arranged in square fields, separated by avenues of
+palms, which both form grateful shade and yield much palm oil. On each
+field is a large board on which is painted the number of bushes. Papye,
+coeur de boeuf, bananas and pineapples abound.
+
+The system of work in every Post is exactly the same, so that a
+description of it as witnessed in Coquilhatville would equally do for
+every place in the Congo. At 5.30 a.m. reveille and at 6 a.m. roll call
+of all the Europeans and native workers who then, led by a bugler, march
+off to their respective duties. At 11.15 a.m. bugle call and all the
+natives march to the river and bathe. At 11.30 a.m. bathing ceases and
+they march off behind the bugler to dinner and rest. At 2.30 p.m. they
+assemble again and at 5.30 p.m. finish for the day. The native thus
+works eight hours and a half and rests in the hottest portion of the
+day. The workers in the plantations are entirely volunteers and so do
+not come under the 40 hours' rule, which is only applied to those who
+live in the villages and are not in the State service. The women do the
+light work in the plantations and thus fare much better, than when
+forced to do all the work by their husbands, which happens in all the
+villages. It is curious to see them brushing the roads with palm leaves.
+Six or eight women walk abreast and push away the dust and dead leaves
+which are then collected in baskets and thrown into the river.
+
+As our house looks into the square where the Force Publique drill, we
+witness the methods employed. At first the recruit is taught which is
+right and which is left. _Droite_ and up goes the right hand, _gauche_
+and the left follows. The native corporal, however, has corrupted these
+words into _hi hoo_ so that, as is usual in military commands, no mere
+civilian can possibly understand them. Afterwards when he comes to mount
+guard and relieve sentries, the order _présentez armes!_ might be
+anything from the sound.
+
+The band practices also close at hand. First the cornet picks out some
+air he has heard, note by note, and like a child who is learning the
+piano, always goes back to the beginning of the piece when he strikes a
+false note. After many trials the whole air is discovered. Then the
+trombones and bass instruments put in the accompaniment also by
+experiment, and in the end the result is really quite good for Africans
+unlike Asiatics, take kindly to European music.
+
+The method of moving heavy weights is necessarily very primitive, for,
+with the exception of a few wheel-barrows, there are no vehicles of any
+kind here. A huge tree trunk was carried into the square one day; pieces
+of wood had been lashed across it about two feet apart throughout its
+length. One or two men on each side of each piece then lifted it and the
+whole eighty or hundred men marched the trunk along with ease at a jog
+trot. It would indeed be impossible to use heavy trolleys in this part
+of the Congo, for the roads are sandy and the wheels would at once sink
+deeply into them.
+
+A walk through the plantation, which extends over some square miles, is
+very pleasant, as the palms spread their leaves across the avenues until
+they nearly touch each other thus forming beautiful shady groves. Ferns
+grow round the stems and the whole is extremely pretty and
+cool-looking. Beyond the plantation is the cemetery for the whites. Each
+grave is covered with bricks and has a wooden cross at the head on which
+is inscribed the name and date of death. The age however, is omitted and
+this is perhaps as well, for the Congo exacts a heavy toll of young
+lives and new comers are often depressed already by the accounts of the
+climate which have reached Europe.
+
+Further on is a forest through which runs a narrow native tract. This
+demonstrates well the extreme indolence of the native. If a small branch
+of a tree falls across the path, he steps over it, if a large one, he
+walks round it. Time is no object, so the length of the road is
+immaterial. No attempt is made to form bridges, for the streams are not
+deep and are easily fordable, nor even to break off the branches of
+trees which obstruct the way. It is easier to stoop and pass beneath.
+The forest paths have indeed been made simply by the pressure of bare
+feet on the soil and undergrowth. A few monkeys and parrots chatter
+overhead and an occasional pigeon coos, but the chief forms of animal
+life here, are thousands of the most lovely butterflies. These are
+coloured to suit the surroundings and are therefore usually of subdued
+tints. Occasionally however, a great insect nearly as large as one's
+hand, flies by exhibiting the most vivid greens, reds, and blues.
+Bananas, rubber plants, palms and acacias crowd each other in the forest
+through which we walk for three or four miles, until we reach a native
+village consisting of a few square huts in a clearing. A handsome
+looking fellow comes up to us, salutes and desires to know if we wish to
+buy anything. Having neither mitakos, salt, nor cloth except the
+pyjamas we are wearing, we cannot deal and leave the man wondering
+probably--if the native ever does wonder--why we walked all that
+distance if we did not require anything.
+
+On August 8th we visit the Botanical Gardens at Eala, which is about
+three miles from Coquilhatville. Mr. Pinard, the Director of the
+Gardens, shows us the various plants indigenous and imported which he
+has collected, and although the place has only been formed for three
+years, almost everything which could possibly grow has been planted. The
+soil is sandy, the altitude about 1100 feet above sea level and the
+temperature is about 90° F. Numerous varieties of rubber plants are
+arranged here for experimental purposes, and gutta percha also is slowly
+attaining maturity. Bushes which yield acid, suitable for coagulating
+the milk of the rubber plant, grow alongside. Cotton does not do well
+here owing to the scarcity of rain, but coffee and tea flourish. All the
+palms, many ferns and orchids and nearly every fruit and vegetable,
+European as well as tropical, grow in great profusion while the melons,
+vegetable marrows, beans, peas, potatoes, lettuces, cucumbers and
+tomatoes look healthy. Croton, belladonna and other medicinal herbs are
+cultivated and there are many beautiful flowers, whose use is chiefly
+ornamental. The gardens are of great extent, well laid out and
+beautifully kept, so that it is difficult to believe that four years ago
+this site was wild forest.
+
+Adjoining the gardens is a large farm in which cattle, resembling those
+of the Lower Congo, look well. It is however, unfortunate that the cows
+only give sufficient milk to rear their calves. Horses, asses and pigs
+live healthily and the native sheep thrive, but are very thin. Although
+wheat will not grow, maize is easily raised and the grass, if coarse
+looking, is good for grazing. The farm buildings are kept most
+scrupulously clean, for the slightest neglect would probably occasion an
+epidemic of trichinosis among the pigs.
+
+The villages in the neighbourhood of Coquilhatville seem very populous
+and prosperous. Any morning early whole families can be met--father,
+mother and children, with bundles of manioc fastened on their backs by
+broad grass fibres--going to the town. Everywhere the natives seem
+contented and happy. When not working, they sit in the roads and dye
+their skins or have their hair dressed, while the children play around
+with bows and arrows or other pugnacious kind of toys. The wealthy wear
+heavy brass rings extending from the ankle to the knee and the
+discomfort must be very great, but as is proved by the tatouage, the
+natives will bear much pain in order to beautify themselves. Before
+leaving Coquilhatville, we send for the boy Epondo, who was rendered
+famous as an example of an atrocity by Mr. Casement, the late British
+Consul at Boma. Epondo is now employed as a gardener by the Commissaire
+of the District and is always at hand when visitors desire to see him.
+Four inches below the elbow joint of the left arm there are two deeps
+scars, three inches apart, which could certainly have been produced by
+the bite of an animal of about the size of a wild boar. The stump of the
+forearm is covered with irregular scars, such as would remain if the
+hand had become gangrenous and fallen away. It was useless asking him
+questions, as he had already told two distinct stories which have been
+related above.
+
+On August 10th, we leave Coquilhatville and steam down the river to
+Irebu, which we reach after a few hours hot journey. Mr. Jeniaux, the
+Commandant, has spared no pains to make the camp not only beautiful but
+attractive in every way and it has well earned its reputation as one of
+the show places of the Congo. Lord Mountmorres is lodged in a spare
+house used for guests and Lieutenant Hoyer kindly lends me his during
+our stay. The Mess is very comfortably arranged, and the dinner based on
+antelope and wild pig is excellent.
+
+Next day I go hunting with Mr. Hoyer in a canoe propelled by twenty
+paddlers. These at first keep up a kind of chant to the time of the
+paddles which is quite musical and pleasant. As we approach the game
+grounds however, they become quite silent. After travelling up stream
+for about a mile, we land in a kind of bog which is full of a species of
+duck, somewhat resembling a wood-cock. A sergeant of the Force Publique
+acts as guide and hunter, and it soon becomes apparent that the native
+is in the habit of stalking even birds and shooting them sitting. This
+is natural enough for formerly they were armed with bows and arrows, and
+now the army of course use only rifles. Shot guns, therefore, are only
+known to the boys of the white men, some of whom are very good shots.
+The hunter seems quite annoyed because I only shoot at birds on the
+wing, but is delighted when one falls. So far indeed, the only
+enthusiasm a native has shown, has been while hunting after a successful
+shot. The paddlers at once re-enact the scene, put imaginary guns to
+their shoulders give a loud bang and then describe circles with their
+hands to give a dumb show of the bird falling, laughing and shouting
+all the time. They are really just like young children and are easily
+pleased by trifles. After walking some distance the sergeant becomes
+wildly excited and clutches me violently by the arm but makes no noise.
+Looking up I see a large monkey but signify that I will not shoot those
+beasts. He then asks permission to fire his rifle and brings it down
+with a shot through the head. After this we paddle on to the hippo
+ground. After the very first shot at a head fifty yards away, the canoe
+suddenly gives a great lurch and as nearly as possible capsizes. Another
+great beast had evidently chosen that moment to come up just under it
+and if we had not been a heavy load, would undoubtedly have thrown it
+high in the air. As it was, beyond a shaking, no one was damaged and we
+had excellent sport for a few minutes until the animals made for the
+bank and hid themselves in the long grass.
+
+Behind Irebu is a plain, where the grass is really green, the green that
+is only seen in the tropics. Here and there are clumps of palms and
+patches of forest, the whole giving the appearance of a well kept park.
+There are antelope and wild pig here but they are very difficult to
+stalk owing to the open character of the ground. There are also a few
+red-legged partridges and many pigeons so that one always found
+something to shoot.
+
+The native camp here consists of a large square shut off by a wooden
+fence. Inside are large huts in which the soldiers live, and oddly
+enough, they all prefer to have separate establishments, each woman
+preparing the food for her husband. These women also work in the
+plantation when they are not concerned with the business of maternity,
+which judging by the number of children about, must be very seldom. The
+native cemetery is a curious-looking place, for on each grave is placed
+the clothes of the dead one and any other belongings he has. No one
+knows the origin or object of this custom. They are not for the journey
+to the happy hunting ground apparently, for missionaries say they have
+never heard the natives speak of any kind of a future state. It may be
+that these articles are merely to show the wealth of the departed; they
+are however, all broken or torn to shreds, so that no robber should be
+tempted to take them. Many of the tribes are said to eat their dead,
+except those of high position and those who die of infectious diseases,
+and others used to throw the corpses in the river. Some tribes however,
+have a very elaborate funeral with much wailing and lamenting and the
+departed is interred beneath his own hut, which is never occupied again.
+
+At Irebu, the narrow river from Lake Tumba joins the Congo, and from its
+small size is known usually as the canal. The current sometimes flows up
+and sometimes down, according to the height of water in the Congo, but
+it is obvious that the general direction must be down, as many small
+streams flow into the Lake, and all their water is certainly not
+dispersed by evaporation. Many crocodiles pass up and down the canal and
+it would be easy to shoot them from the windows or verandah of my house,
+but it seems to be rather a waste of cartridges which, like most other
+things, must be carried the whole tour, for none can be procured in the
+Congo. I do not therefore, care to run the risk of running short when
+the hunting grounds of Uele are reached.
+
+Sunday is usually a very busy day in Irebu. No work is done, but all
+the Chiefs come in to call on the Commandant, who is evidently regarded
+as a species of parent. Indeed, the nickname of Commandant Jeniaux is
+the native word meaning Father. All the sick are brought in and receive
+treatment; children are vaccinated, and any little native disputes are
+brought before him to settle. These nearly always relate to women. One
+man will complain that his wife has not behaved herself properly at
+home, that she has not prepared his food nicely, or much more rarely,
+that she has run away with another. Sometimes a Chief complains that
+another one has stolen some of his women or goats, and then the other
+side is heard and the judgment pronounced. These are of course, not
+formal trials, and the judgment is more in the shape of advice. It is
+however, always acted upon, for the time being at least. Serious cases
+are left to the Courts, but this institution of friendly palavers is an
+excellent one and establishes confidence and good will among the
+natives. It is here indeed, that the personal character of the white man
+is put to the test. A calm, just, firm rule will win both the love and
+respect of these over-grown children, but an excitable, harsh, uncertain
+temper and manner, will only awaken distrust and hatred. The more
+popular the head of the Station, the easier it is for him to find
+workers in the villages, which in turn affect the general condition of
+the country around. Although the system of work is absolutely uniform
+and every official is tied in a particular groove, yet the whole
+welfare, work, and indeed, appearance of the country and villages, is
+good or bad according to the moral character and personality of the
+chief white man in the neighbourhood. I would therefore, say, with
+however some reserve, that when the natives are discontented and rebel,
+it is not because they dislike the system of Government, but are
+dissatisfied with the man who administers it.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE CHIEFS AT COQUILHATVILLE.]
+
+On August 16th, Inspecteur d'Etat Warnant, Commander in-chief of the
+Force Publique, arrives at Irebu. He is on a tour of inspection, and has
+every reason to be satisfied with the efficiency of the troops. Perfect
+discipline and harmony is maintained throughout all ranks and all the
+officers are agreed that the troops are perfectly steady when fighting
+and never show the least sign of cowardice. Many are very good shots and
+their drill certainly leaves nothing to be desired.
+
+On the same day Mr. Joseph Clarke, of the American Baptist Mission at
+Ikoko, calls at Irebu and kindly invites me to his house for a few days.
+This is situated on the banks of Lake Tumba, or Mantumba or Lac N'Tomba,
+whichever you prefer. Lord Mountmorres remains at Irebu, but I leave in
+Mr. Clarke's boat, propelled by twenty four paddlers, and journey along
+the canal, which twists and turns in all directions. Towards sunset we
+land at Boboko where Mr. Clarke buys some ducks and eggs, the price of
+the latter being a table-spoonful of salt for each. He arranges also to
+sell some nails to the Chief. We then cross the canal to Itutu, a branch
+Mission Station conducted by a native who preaches, and is an excellent
+carpenter. Here we sleep, Mr. Clarke making up a bed in the boat, while
+I occupy a mud hut which however, is scrupulously clean.
+
+Next morning, after a bathe in the canal, in which the water is like
+warm, weak coffee, we continue our journey to Ngero, a long straggling
+village on the north bank of the Lake. The huts here are oblong and
+strongly constructed of hard cane and mud, the roofs being thatched with
+dried palm leaves closely interlaced. It is necessary to stoop to enter
+them, for the doors are not five feet high, but it is possible to stand
+upright within. There is usually a wood fire burning, but no outlet for
+the smoke, which slowly finds its way through the roof. The rafters
+therefore, are covered with a kind of tar which, undoubtedly, acts as an
+antiseptic, and also keeps away the insects. The mosquitoes indeed, will
+not face wood smoke, but tobacco smoke is useless as a shield against
+their attacks. Both sexes here are practically nude. The men are
+fishermen and the women look after the banana-plantations, crush the
+palm nuts for oil and do the cooking and housework.
+
+Ngero was the village of the Chief Lokolo Longania, who raised a
+rebellion against the State some years ago, and after some trouble was
+captured and hanged. Here we buy some fish and eggs and then go on to
+Ikoko, the crew singing native songs and Christian hymns as they paddle
+along. The Mission house is very prettily situated, and is a wooden
+building, with that very rare luxury in the Congo, glass windows. Here
+we are met by Mrs. Clarke, who has spent many years with her husband in
+Africa. The Mission has a good farm and garden, and since the climate is
+not as bad as in many parts, its inmates enjoy fair health. A large
+wooden building is used as a chapel and school, and near it is a saw pit
+and a carpenter's shop where the boys make furniture and boxes for sale
+at Irebu and other Posts in the neighbourhood, for the furniture of the
+Ikoko Mission is quite famous. The girls all wear plain, blue frocks
+which they make themselves, as well as clothes for sale, and many are
+also quite expert at various kinds of fancy needlework. The business has
+however, decreased lately owing to the decrease in population. The
+Mission bell has been ingeniously fixed in a tree, and it calls to
+school, to work and prayer, as regularly as the bugle in the State
+Posts.
+
+The village of Ikoko consists of groups of huts separated from each
+other by the tall grass, which here is eighteen or twenty feet long, but
+as the ends bend over, not above twelve or fifteen feet high. The people
+seem idle, contented and happy, the chief industry being fishing and
+net-making. Mr. Clarke said the population used to be about 2000 in
+number, but many have died of Sleeping Sickness and some have migrated.
+This is very evident, for a number of huts are deserted, and the weeds
+have grown over them, in some cases entirely blocking the entrances. Out
+of curiosity, we have a rough census taken and find there are 138 men in
+the village on August 19th. Some no doubt are fishing, and allowing for
+these and the women and children, there are probably not more than 1000
+to 1200 people now living in the village. The work these do for the
+State, consists of supplying 600 rations of fish per week to the
+plantation of Bikoro, a ration consisting of a whole, a half, or a
+quarter of a fish according to its size. For this they are paid 600
+mitakos--or about 23/--. They also supply bamboos and baskets, but it is
+very plain that if the people worked hard, they would certainly not
+require as long as 40 hours a month to accomplish their tasks. The fish
+are caught in nets made of thin bamboo lashed together by a tough
+creeper, which are arranged in the lake. Sometimes it happens that the
+fishermen are unfortunate and then they buy from their neighbours who
+take advantage of the scarcity value and charge them more than they will
+receive from the State. A village might thus be out of pocket by the
+transaction, but as each one has its turn, probably by the end of the
+year no one has lost or gained.
+
+In the Mission school men, women, and children are learning to read and
+write the native language, and some have mastered also the rudiments of
+arithmetic and French. Some of the classes are held in the school-room
+and others under trees near at hand. An assistant missionary, Mr.
+Whitman, helps Mr. Clarke, while Mrs. Whitman teaches in the school.
+
+On August 20th we start for Bikoro under a threatening sky. It is indeed
+soon apparent that a tornado is crossing the Lake towards us, for great
+banks of dense clouds advancing rapidly from the south west now obscure
+the sun. It would be impossible to travel through the storm, so we turn
+the boat and make for a creek which bounds Ikoko on the east. Only just
+in time, we reach a native hut, as a terrific storm bursts overhead.
+The rain descends in sheets accompanied by vivid green lightning and
+crashes of thunder. Fortunately the roof is water-tight, but the mud
+floor of the hut has worn down below the level of the ground outside and
+soon the water pours through the door and is nine or ten inches deep
+inside. The fire splutters out and the logs float around amid the
+crowing of fowls and the cackling of ducks who are quite contented and
+happy. Our hostess with a baby strapped on her back in the usual native
+fashion, commences to bale out the water with a basket while we sit on
+logs in the darkness and try to keep dry. After about an hour the storm
+passes and we go back to the Mission, the Lake now appearing like a
+small sea.
+
+Mr. Clarke lends me a copy of the _Memorial concerning conditions in the
+Independent State of the Congo_ which was presented to the American
+Senate early in 1904. There seem to be a great many curious errors in
+it. It starts with the astounding statement that the Congo Free State
+has a sea board of 400 miles along the Atlantic, whereas a glance at the
+map will show that it is really about a tenth as long. It estimates the
+Force Publique at 30,000 men, rather more than twice its full strength,
+and its author is under the impression that the people may not collect
+the produce of the land or "barter it for merchandise." It is a little
+difficult to understand what the author means here. As a matter of fact,
+the people are trading with each other, all day long and with the white
+travellers whenever they have the opportunity. They sell food, lances,
+native knives and all kinds of curiosities to those who desire them and
+are at perfect liberty to barter away all their property if they wish to
+do so. They may not of course enter the territories of the State or
+Private Companies and take the ivory or rubber, any more than the people
+in Europe may walk on to private land and gather the corn or fruit from
+it for their own use or profit. The native indeed is in the position of
+a farm labourer who gathers the fruits of the soil for his master and is
+paid a wage for so doing. On Sunday I attend service in the chapel. A
+native from Sierra Leone reads a lesson from the Gospel of St. Matthew,
+which has been translated into Bangala and gives a short address on the
+subject afterwards. He is evidently much in earnest and talks with that
+kind of spirit of conviction frequently to be noticed in street
+preachers. Several hymns are sung and then the people pass out, dropping
+their mitakos into the plate as they do so. In the afternoon, we walk
+round the village. Mr. Clarke notices a boy with a malformation of one
+knee and speaks to him. He then explains to me that this is another
+atrocity, for the boy said he had been shot by the soldiers of the State
+when an infant. An examination of the boy however, showed he was
+suffering from a kind of bony tumour. There are several chiefs in Ikoko
+and one of them also practises as a doctor. He has cleared a space about
+ten feet in diameter and enclosed it for a consulting room, while an
+inner chamber, still more closely surrounded, is the secret place where
+the infusions are made and the charms and fetishes consulted. Although
+many of the drugs used, are efficacious or not, according to the faith
+of the patient, as in civilised countries, yet the white people
+constantly tell of apparently wonderful cures by native doctors, and it
+is certain that the people at present prefer to be treated by those of
+their own colour. There is also an old lady in Ikoko, the widow of a
+chief, who is reported to be very clever as a healer. This old person
+has European features but has an unpleasant expression. The native women
+wear nothing but a thin belt with a small piece of cloth attached but
+they are covered with brass rings, and the principle wife of an
+important chief here was wearing a necklet of solid brass which must
+have weighed thirty or forty pounds. This was fixed on and had to be
+worn night and day.
+
+[Illustration: THE FARM AT EALA.]
+
+In spite however, of clever doctors, the men do not live to be much over
+forty years of age. Perhaps they have too many wives for there are far
+more old women than men. On the other hand, as there must be two or
+three women to each man, it is only natural to find more of the former
+at any given age. The infants are not weaned for three or four years and
+during that period the woman it is said refuses to lie with her husband.
+Another wife therefore, cohabits with the man while the first rears her
+child. Polygamy is thus a custom which the missionaries find very
+difficult to change. The State however, refuses to recognise more than
+one wife and many of the soldiers are legitimately married by the
+officials qualified to perform that office.
+
+Much palm wine is consumed by the natives for its manufacture is very
+simple. A gourd is tied to an upper branch of a palm which is then
+tapped and the sap drops into the vessel. If this is left all night,
+fermentation takes place without artificial aid, and at midday a kind of
+highly scented alcoholic cider is produced which however, is acid and
+undrinkable by the evening. This natural wine must therefore, be drunk
+on the day of fermentation and does not improve on keeping.
+
+What a useful tree the palm is! Its trunk, branches and leaves are fine
+building materials; its matting forms beds and furniture; its oil gives
+light, acts as butter or lard for cooking, makes soap when mixed with
+banana juice or an alkali, and indeed, can be used for all the purposes
+of oil; it forms wine, and the heart of the plant is most excellent
+eating as a salad. Therefore given meat, the palm tree and the banana,
+and a town can be built and its inhabitants fed. Both sexes smoke a
+great deal of tobacco and also Indian hemp, which latter has however,
+been found so injurious that it is illegal to grow the plant but the
+native tobacco is not at all unpleasant when smoked in a pipe.
+
+On August 22nd we take a trip up a small river to the East of Ikoko
+which winds through dense forest and is evidently full of fish, for at
+intervals, barricades are erected which stretch right across the river,
+with the exception of a small space to allow canoes to go up and down.
+In the middle or one side however, an opening is left which can be
+closed by lowering one of the bamboo nets heavily weighted, vertically
+down. Platforms are erected ten or twelve feet high to raise or lower
+these nets and the whole structure is ingeniously and strongly put
+together. The fish are thus allowed to swim up and are then enclosed in
+a section of the river, when they are easily caught in baskets. All the
+riverside population engages in fishing. On the way I shot a toucan,
+which must have weighed ten or twelve pounds, with number five shot
+which happened to be in the gun at the time. The bird however, was hit
+in the head and breast. The natives at once plucked it and having
+scarcely warmed it at the fire greedily eat it.
+
+At a village called Bokoto a boy was brought to me with his right hand
+missing, for I was very anxious to see an original of the photos which
+are so common in England. I was indeed beginning to despair of finding
+one at all for most of the white men had never seen a case, none of the
+natives understood what I wished and hitherto no missionary knew where
+one was to be found. Here however, was a boy with his right hand missing
+and it had evidently been removed by a sharp instrument, but not I think
+by a surgeon, for the scars were not such as follow amputation at the
+wrist joint. Mr. Clarke acted as interpreter and the following
+conversation took place.
+
+--When was this done?
+
+--During the rubber war when the boy was an infant.
+
+--Who did it?
+
+--The soldiers who came from Bofiji.
+
+--Why did they come?
+
+--Because the natives had not collected rubber.
+
+--Where did this take place?
+
+--In the country behind Bikoro and the mother was killed at the same
+time as she was carrying away her infant.
+
+Neither the date nor the age of the boy is known, but he appears to be
+12 or 13 years of age and his name is Imputela. Although therefore, no
+proof can be adduced, for the child of course remembers nothing and only
+knows what he has been told, there is a possibility that a native
+soldier may have cut off his hand. On the other hand, it may have been
+injured or cut by a native chief. I mention this case at length, because
+it was the only one I ever found in a tour of several thousand miles in
+the interior of the Congo State, although everyone knew I was very
+anxious to see such cases. On our way back we call at Inkaka another
+fishing village. Behind it a few of the Batoir tribe had temporarily
+settled. They are very savage and uncivilised and lead a wandering life,
+hunting game. Sometimes they act as professional hunters and are
+employed by villagers to find them food. One young fellow was armed
+with a bow and wooden arrows poisoned at the tip and carefully wrapped
+in a leaf. The poison is simply the decomposing matter of dead men or
+animals. As long as this is wet, it is most deadly but loses its
+strength when dried. For this reason only is the tip wrapped in a leaf.
+Death has followed within a few hours of being struck with a poisoned
+arrow and this is only to be expected, for we know how dangerous it is
+for surgeons when they wound themselves during an examination of the
+dead body. On the way home we found a snake in the water and shot it
+just at the very moment it had seized a fish and was holding it in its
+mouth. Just as we were picking this out another similar one appeared and
+this met the same fate. They were bright green in colour and had small
+heads, but one measured 93 and the other 90 inches in length.
+
+On August 23rd we visit Bikoro a large State plantation of coffee, cocoa
+and rubber, situated on the bank of the Lake about eight or nine miles
+from Ikoko. It is conducted by Mr. Monaie, a Swiss gentleman, who has
+had much experience in horticulture. Here nature has been closely
+imitated but improved upon. First the undergrowth was cleared from the
+forest and then the native rubber vines were planted and have commenced
+to climb the trees. These are not tapped until they are ten years old,
+for although it is possible to obtain the rubber milk before, the vines
+are killed or seriously injured if they are cut when too young. Some
+rubber shrubs from Brazil have also been planted, but do not flourish as
+well as the native kind. Altogether more than a 1000 hectares have been
+planted and the various plantations are connected by well kept paths.
+More than three hundred natives are employed and the work in the shade
+of the forest must be very pleasant. They are housed in a series of huts
+in a clearing, which are kept scrupulously clean. There are fifteen or
+twenty soldiers here who act as policemen--for only the big towns have a
+separate Police force--and guard the rubber and ivory stores. Gum copal
+is also found in the district in large quantities and in various
+qualities and colours. The brick houses for the two officials face the
+lake and gardens have been laid out which are very neat and tidy, the
+whole place, although much smaller, rivalling even Irebu in beauty.
+
+Next day I return to Irebu in the _Florida_ a small stern wheel steamer,
+and find a welcome mail from home and also a permit to shoot game from
+Boma. This latter is an imposing document of nine articles and gives
+permission to shoot adult male animals but not female if accompanied by
+their young, or, if possible to distinguish them, even if alone. The
+animals named are, _hippopotames, baffles, antilopes, gazelles, ibex,
+chevrotains, les divers sangliers, petits singes, outardes, francolains,
+perdreaux, pintades_ and other game birds. Permission is also given to
+kill _in a scientific manner_. one elephant in the close season. It will
+thus be seen that the State is determined to protect the wild animals of
+the forest from indiscriminate slaughter and stringent laws regulating
+hunting are decreed from time to time.
+
+[Illustration: THE UBANGI RIVER.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+The Ubangi River.--Irebu to Banzyville.
+
+
+We leave Irebu on August 29th in the _Florida_ and steam up the river
+Ubangi. The colour of the water at once changes for whereas the Congo
+carries much sand and is brown, the Ubangi carries much clay and is a
+dirty yellow. The banks are densely wooded and in the stream are many
+islands also covered with forest. Lying on patches of sand or on the
+fallen trunks of trees are many crocodiles asleep. There is not much
+sport in shooting them but one which was leisurely swimming up stream
+about fifty yards from the ship, made a sporting shot and was killed
+with a bullet in the heart. As the cabin is small and hot, we arrange to
+sleep on the bridge of the steamer which is almost embedded in trees
+when we tie up to the bank for the night. A tornado bursts about
+midnight, but the dense foliage acts as a protection and very little
+water finds its way into our improvised bedroom.
+
+Next day we stop at Bobanghe, a native Wood-Post, and go ashore. The
+huts here are thatched with grass, for palms seem scarce. Some of the
+men have black beards which they plait into one or two tails, producing
+a curious appearance and while they fish, the women do the work of the
+village and the marketing. Several of them were sitting on logs,
+contentedly puffing tobacco smoke from wooden pipes while they offered
+fish, fruit and vegetables for sale to our crew and native passengers.
+One variety of fish was particularly noticeable; it was coloured like a
+trout, but had a long snout on the dorsal side. We bought one, and it
+proved very good eating. The forest here is full of rubber plants,
+nearly every vine and leaf, when broken, yielding the milky sap which
+dries, or can be coagulated, into rubber.
+
+One day the boy Jean fell overboard, but leisurely undressed in the
+water and swam to the bank, whence he was rescued by the canoe of the
+steamer. He was perfectly calm but Chikaia burst into tears and loudly
+blubbered. Very little indeed is sufficient to arouse emotionalism in
+some-of the natives, who are always laughing or crying, fortunately the
+former more often than the latter.
+
+The banks of the Ubangi descend as a rule, sheer into deep water and are
+often indeed miniature cliffs. No attempt is made to fashion steps and
+the villagers slide down the banks as best they can and thus form a rude
+path to the water. A half dozen men in an hour could make a convenient
+inclined plain or steps, but the native only does what work is
+absolutely necessary in order to live, and although loving ease, will
+not take the trouble to make himself more comfortable. So he climbs
+painfully up the bank every night from his canoe and slides down again
+every morning without attempting to improve the path. The vanity of the
+native however, causes him to take great pains to--as he thinks--improve
+his personal appearance. Brass collars and bangles are very uncommon on
+the Ubangi and beads take their place. The women wear short skirts made
+of vegetable fibres plaited, which must take days or weeks to construct.
+These are black or red in colour and are suspended from the waist, but
+as the fibre is somewhat stiff, they project all round like the dress of
+a ballet dancer. These are peculiar to the Ubangi and are rarely worn by
+other tribes. The men wear only loin cloths and often carry a large
+straight knife suspended by a leather belt strapped round the chest.
+
+It is very hot from midday to sunset, but the nights are comparatively
+cool. One afternoon we saw a great number of serpent-birds perched high
+up on a bulbous tree, and, as they are good to eat, stopped to shoot
+some. They were not at all shy and did not depart after several shots
+had been fired, but wheeled round and round as if to discover what was
+the cause of the strange noise. Ball, 3 and 5' shot were equally
+efficacious and more than a dozen fell in a few minutes. These birds
+have a beautiful black and white plumage with a long neck and bill and
+webbed feet and weigh five or six pounds each. The flavour is somewhat
+like ptarmigan and the natives eat them, as usual, without waiting until
+they were properly cooked.
+
+In the evening I took a stroll in the forest and soon found the recent
+spoor of an elephant. Chikaia was just ahead, when he suddenly stopped
+and whispered _macat_ pointing in the air. There was a fine monkey and
+the boy's instinct for such a choice morsel, actually caused him to
+stop, although he knew very well it would have been absurd to fire and
+so frighten the elephant. At one time we must have been within a few
+yards of the beast when a snapping of a twig or some sound disturbed him
+and with a bellow he rushed away crashing through the forest. It is
+curious that while birds are so bold in Africa, ground game is extremely
+shy and most difficult to stalk.
+
+On September 2nd we reach Imese, the first place on the Ubangi where
+there are white men. Mr. Donneaux was the Chef du poste and everything
+was in good order. Rubber vines were being planted in the forest and
+rubber shrubs in the clearings. Coffee was also growing and pineapples
+and other fruits looked well. All the houses are, as usual, of brick
+which are of better quality than on the Congo, as the clay is good and
+very abundant. The native village is about ten minutes' walk distant and
+is arranged in two or three regular streets and not in patches of huts
+dotted down here and there as in the Lake Tumba District. The State
+impost here is one kilogramme of rubber each month from each man for
+which he is paid 40 or 50 centimes. Collecting this amount takes one or
+two days and the rest of the time the native works for himself or not
+as he chooses. Here the people seem more industrious than in most parts,
+many women being engaged in making mats and pottery. The pots are
+fashioned by hand with the aid of a round stone and are so wonderfully
+symmetrical that they resemble those made on a lathe. The clay is
+obtained from the river bed by diving and after the vessel is made, it
+is first dried in the sun and then baked in a wood fire. While still
+hot, it is painted with gum copal which renders it water-tight.
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG COFFEE TREES AT COQUILHATVILLE.]
+
+At dinner we have a dish called _beefsteak American_. formed apparently
+of very tender, cold meat with green salad and mayonnaise. On asking
+however, we hear it is the raw flesh of goat cut up small. It is
+certainly the best way of eating goat's flesh, for any method of cooking
+seems to extract what little juice it possesses and convert it into a
+substance resembling old leather. The name is curious, for it is neither
+beef nor steak, and is probably as rare in America as Irish stew is in
+Ireland or Welsh rarebit in Wales.
+
+There are some very fine canoes here, very often carved throughout their
+entire length, a favourite device being a crocodile. Two or three very
+large _tom-toms_. are also in the village. These instruments are carved
+from a solid piece of a tree six or eight feet long, most of the
+interior being extracted through a narrow slit-like aperture two or
+three inches wide and running nearly the length of the tom-tom. The
+result is a hollow instrument, giving one or two different notes when
+struck in different parts which can be heard for many miles. In case of
+war, the whole country side can be quickly aroused, but the _tom-tom_.
+is also used during peace as a telegraph.
+
+At Imese two soldiers and their future brides came on board for the
+purpose of travelling to Libenge to be married, for only Commissaires of
+Districts and Missionaries can legally join two into one. The send off
+was quite pretty, the happy couples being pelted with flowers as they
+stepped on board, while one friend--perhaps a kind of best man--threw
+his cap into the river. The State encourages regular marriages,
+especially among the soldiers. The wife then works in the gardens or
+plantations, while her husband drills, and returns at midday and in the
+evening to cook his food.
+
+Next day we reach Dongo, a village situated on a hill perhaps 200 feet
+high. After looking at flat forest for weeks, this appears a veritable
+mountain and it seems quite a stiff climb up the rough path constructed
+as usual only by the feet of the people who have used it. Mr. Vannini,
+an Italian officer, is constructing a Post here with the aid of some ten
+or fifteen soldiers. Dongo is a very large village containing perhaps
+3000 people and the huts are arranged in streets running parallel to
+each other with their ends towards the river. The physique of the people
+is very good indeed, some of the men being more than six feet in height.
+The women mostly wear copper collars, three inches high and with a
+second horizontal collar attached on the outside. The whole is hammered
+on and must be intensely uncomfortable. A special pillow, consisting of
+a piece of wood hollowed out for the head is necessary, as sleep would
+otherwise be impossible with such a contrivance round the neck. A great
+number of children run about and seem to be well nourished. Some have
+large heads and protruding stomachs, without however, other signs of
+_rickets_. Many of the men are painted with yellow stripes, an
+indication that they have killed their man in battle, and these donned
+their fighting clothes of many colours and with shields and spears posed
+to be photographed, dancing around and uttering wild war whoops. A human
+skull partly buried in the middle of a road is evidently a souvenir of
+the terrible orgy which followed some recent encounter. Indeed all the
+people here are cannibals and those killed or captured in war, except
+women and children, are always eaten. When not fighting, the people
+fish, collect rubber, grow kwanga and generally work fairly well and are
+not troublesome. Mr. Vannini, however, evidently thinks it safer to
+erect a high stockade around his house and the huts of the soldiers.
+This is a wise precaution, as only a few months ago four French traders
+were killed and eaten on the opposite bank of the river.
+
+After passing several densely populated villages, one of which extends
+in a straight line for ten miles, we reach Libenge, the capital of the
+Ubangi District. The houses here have been arranged around a square with
+one side open to the river. In one of these we take up our quarters and
+then go for a stroll with Captain Bertrand, the Commissaire of the
+District, and Dr. Rhodain, the medical officer for Ubangi. The latter
+states that he has only seen two cases of sleeping sickness in several
+years' residence and that there is no syphilis, small-pox or
+tuberculosis in the neighbourhood. The people work well here,--the
+villagers collecting the usual kilogramme per month, while the workers
+in the plantations clear the forest and plant more rubber for future
+use. The hunting here is very good in the dry season. Now however, it is
+necessary to wade in water three feet deep in the forest. Spoor of
+elephant and antelope abound and there are several magnificent eagles
+and hawks overhead.
+
+The chief difficulty here for Europeans is the water question. Although
+much of this necessity is on all sides, it is not of good drinking
+quality and dysentery is therefore common, while bilious fever and
+hematuria are also known.
+
+One night at Libenge as we were playing bridge, the sentry suddenly
+fired and the bullet whistled uncomfortably close by the door of our
+house. The guard turned out very quickly without any fuss and passed at
+the double. A single sharp order was given and then all was quiet again.
+Next day we heard that a thief had penetrated to the rubber store when
+he was seen by the sentry, who fired the alarm, but the man was not
+captured. All the natives here seem anxious to trade. Ladies sell us
+their brass bangles for a tea cup full of salt and their dresses for a
+similar amount. Spears, knives and many other curios are also offered
+for sale some of which have evidently been hastily made since our
+arrival.
+
+We leave Libenge on September 9th and continue our journey in the
+_Florida_, this being her first trip up the river higher than this point
+for at low water, the rapids above cannot be navigated by steamers at
+all. Now however, the depth is almost at its maximum, and as the boat
+only draws two feet, she can pass over the rocks with great ease. In the
+afternoon we stop at a village and ask for wood, for as there was no
+regular steamer service, there were no organised Wood Posts. The natives
+at first brought down a log or two and demanded payment at an exorbitant
+rate, which the captain refused to give, and it became necessary for our
+crew to go ashore and cut wood themselves. The Chief seemed willing to
+deal fairly, but evidently had little authority over his lazy people.
+Then on again through the tornado, which at this season appears daily
+with great regularity either in the afternoon or at night time. The
+scenery is now changing, for we are approaching the limits of the great
+equatorial forest. Hills, which appear like mountains, after the dead
+level, can be seen in front covered with grass and a few trees.
+
+On September 10th, we reach Songo a small State Post in charge of a
+native from Sierra Leone. Here we pitch our tents in a clearing and
+proceed to re-arrange the baggage, for we shall have now to travel in
+canoes, the river not being navigable for steamers for some distance.
+Immediately above Songo indeed is the first of the Ubangi rapids, the
+water roaring and hissing as it fights its way down and over the rocks.
+Just before bedtime, Chikaia comes with a long face and evidently much
+disturbed and asks for a gun or rifle to protect himself, as the
+_indigènes_ are supposed to be very savage here. This of course I
+refuse, and tell him to go to sleep by the fire and not be foolish.
+However, I notice that both my rifle and gun are loaded and carefully
+placed by my bedside. The boys then organise a watch over the baggage,
+taking it in turn to act as sentry. On the opposite side of the river is
+Bangi, the second most important place in the French Congo, prettily
+situated on the side of a hill, and next day we cross in a small canoe.
+The journey is interesting and exciting. Below the rapids are many small
+whirlpools, and the capita of the canoe takes advantage of these to help
+him on his course. Sometimes the water at the upper and sometimes at the
+lower edge of the whirlpool is flowing in the direction he wishes to
+take and with wonderful dexterity, he turns the bow of the canoe towards
+a suitable current. We swing about like a cork and ship a good deal of
+water but arrive without mishap on the other side. We call on Mr.
+Jacques, the Vice Governor General of the French Congo, who kindly
+offers us assistance and a few soldiers to act as sentries and
+interpreters when we camp on the French side of the river. Most of these
+are Senegalese and are smart looking fellows. The natives here affect a
+very elaborate head dress consisting of many coloured beads twisted and
+plaited into their hair, the amount of time and patience required by the
+barbers being enormous.
+
+It appears that the four French traders, who were massacred a few weeks
+ago, had two factories, one close to the river and one further inland.
+In the latter was a large stock of arms and ammunition. These were
+hastily abandoned and the natives then seized them and attacked the
+factory on the river. All four white men were killed and it is feared
+that two were first tied to trees and tortured. A punitive expedition
+has been sent against the tribe who are now armed with these modern
+rifles and the moral of the story is obviously that it is very dangerous
+to permit traders to import and sell arms at all.
+
+One night I was awakened and saw the boys dancing excitedly about the
+fire and in front of my tent. Having asked the matter, Chikaia, whose
+zoological knowledge is very limited, replied _il est la petite bête_.
+This sounded like mosquitoes so, having tucked in my net more closely, I
+turned round to sleep. A few minutes afterwards, Lord Mountmorres
+appeared shouting with pain and mounting a chair in front of my tent
+rapidly peeled off his clothes. He said his bed was full of great black
+ants which had fixed on his skin and were biting him all over. Millions
+of these pests indeed were on the camping ground but had as yet not
+reached my tent. Hastily pulling on high boots and covering myself from
+head to foot, I cautiously crept out of the tent and found the ground
+black with ants. It was impossible to kill them by stamping about for
+they were simply driven into the soft sand and wriggled out again the
+moment the foot was withdrawn. We were evidently in the line of march of
+a migrating host and were forced to beat a hasty retreat leaving the
+insects in full possession.
+
+There is no drinking water at Songo, so we had to boil and filter that
+from the river. This proved very difficult, for even after allowing it
+to settle and then carefully decanting it, there was so much mud left,
+that the pores of the porcelain candles in the filters frequently became
+blocked. We had therefore to be content with muddy water well boiled. As
+we had a fair amount of baggage, we required sixty or seventy paddlers
+and it was not easy to find so many. At length however, after searching
+on both sides of the river, crews were collected for three large canoes
+and we arranged to continue our journey on September 14th.
+
+The canoes were lifted up the Songo rapids empty, while the baggage was
+carried along the bank. It was then stowed in the boats and having
+taken our places we made a start. The method of propulsion is very
+interesting to watch. The canoes are sixty or seventy feet long and
+three or four wide. In the centre is an awning to shade the white man
+and in front by the bows, a space is left about ten feet long in which
+three pole men work. These use their poles as in punting, except that
+the ends are forked, so that they are enabled to push either against the
+bottom of the river or rocks, or branches of trees on the bank, for the
+canoe keeps close to the shore all the time in order to give the polemen
+an opportunity and also to avoid the swifter current running in the
+centre of the river. In the stern twenty or thirty paddlers sit on the
+sides of the boat and work together, while on the extreme end two or
+three stand up with long paddles to steer. The cook with his fire built
+on a heap of clay in the bottom of the canoe, sits among the paddlers
+and the sentries and baggage tuck themselves in somewhere, for it is
+wonderful how many people and how much baggage these canoes will carry.
+
+Soon after starting we pass the Catholic Mission on the French bank and
+immediately begin to fight a rapid. The paddlers strain every muscle,
+the pole men push with all their strength against rocks and tree trunks
+and the soldiers help by pulling on branches of trees or anything else
+which is fixed. The water whirls past as we creep up inch by inch. At
+one moment gaining, at another losing, the excitement being intense, for
+if once we are conquered by the stream, the canoe will probably be
+broken to pieces on the rocks. At times some of the crew jump out and
+clinging with their feet to the rocks, while up to their middle in the
+torrent, push the boat up with all their strength. At length smooth
+water is reached and on we go quietly for an hour or two, when another
+rapid is reached and the struggle commences again. The work is intensely
+hard and dangerous, but the Sangos are expert boatmen and seem anxious
+to finish their task as soon as possible. In rough water or smooth, the
+crews race along, singing, shouting and encouraging each other to make
+one more effort. After an exciting and tiring day we reach a village and
+having seen the crews rationed, pitch our tents.
+
+On again at 6.30. a.m. in a heavy river mist which however, is soon
+dispersed as the sun rises. The rapids, which at first had the
+excitement of novelty, began to pall for it was tiresome not being able
+to read or sleep without being disturbed by the possibility of a bath in
+a current running, at the rate of perhaps fifteen miles an hour, between
+rocks. Towards sunset we reach the site of Bokanda, a village now
+deserted, for some years ago the Chief with his people migrated across
+the river to the French side. We decide therefore, to sleep in the new
+village and proceed to cross, but are still in mid stream when we see
+the majority of the people running away into the forest behind, the
+women gathering up their children and household utensils, while the men
+followed more leisurely. The Chief however, and a few braves appear on
+the beach with guns and for a moment it looks as though they mean
+mischief. They evidently however think better of it, for we land
+unmolested and send interpreters to say we are hunters and only desire a
+place for our camp and food for our men. The Chief at once advances and
+gives us chickens and eggs while the soldiers pitch the tents in the
+square of the village.
+
+On again at daybreak, the journey being still more tiring, for it is
+impossible to force the canoes heavily laden up some of the cataracts.
+We have therefore to land three times and while the baggage is carried
+along the bank, the empty canoes are hauled up with ropes. At length the
+elephant rapids are safely negotiated and an hour or two afterwards
+Mokoangai is reached but in three long days' hard work, we have ascended
+only about thirty miles of the river.
+
+At Mokoangai is a large plantation and farm and well built houses for
+the one or two white men who live there. Next day I start before
+daybreak hunting. The country is open and hilly, covered generally with
+grass eight or ten feet high. Still there are many places where the
+ground is almost bare and it is an ideal spot for stalking game. After
+walking a few miles in a mist, we see several antelopes and endeavour to
+stalk them. While still nearly a hundred yards away, they commence to
+walk slowly towards cover but it is possible to get a fair side shot and
+one falls heavily hit in the shoulder. Soon after an elephant suddenly
+appears about two hundred yards ahead walking along the crest of a hill.
+Sending the native hunter to pick up the antelope, Chikaia and I follow
+the elephant's spoor for some hours, but do not come up with it or find
+other game. We were now high up on the range of hills behind Mokoangai
+and the view was magnificent. The great river could be seen winding its
+way between the hills covered with the vivid greens only to be found in
+damp tropical countries. Otherwise the picture somewhat recalled
+central Wales with a Wye magnified a hundred times. Chikaia had walked a
+long way carrying a heavy rifle, and now showed signs of fatigue so he
+was encouraged by being allowed to shoot a monkey on the way home.
+
+Next day being Sunday, we rest quietly in the Post and prepare to leave
+next morning in the _Aia_ which is one of the first launches Stanley
+took to Africa and is therefore, somewhat ancient. Since she is too
+small to carry much baggage, she tows a large open iron boat nearly the
+same size alongside. In this the camp is slowed and the boys and
+soldiers take their places sitting on the bales and cases, and we make a
+start on Monday September 19th for Banzyville. Fortunately there are no
+rapids in this stretch of the river and it is at least possible to stand
+up comfortably in the launch, whereas in the canoes, it was necessary to
+sit still in a long hammock chair for practically twelve hours each day.
+
+The people and villages now change much in appearance for the huts are
+shaped like beehives and are made of frameworks of wood covered with
+grass. The entrance is only about three feet high and the dome of the
+roof perhaps four times that height. In some of them a kind of platform
+is erected which seems to be an attempt to make a two storey building of
+the hut. The women are here either quite nude or wear a small piece of
+cloth or grass below the waist; the men however all have a loin cloth.
+All the people seem to be of fine physique and the proportion of
+children is abnormally high. The first night we stop at a trading post
+of the Dutch Company on the French side of the river and are hospitably
+received by the agents there.
+
+Next day we reach the Catholic Mission of Sainte Famille also on French
+territory. The Fathers have laid out a large plantation and farm;
+horses, cattle, sheep, goats and poultry all doing well. Indeed modern
+American ploughs and carts give the farm quite a home-like appearance.
+Maize, oranges, bananas, pineapples and many vegetables are here in
+abundance. Sleeping Sickness is not known, which immunity is attributed
+by the priests to the fact that the natives have plenty of fresh meat
+and eat little kwanga. Apparently the disease is due to a bacillus. It
+is however, at least possible that the new diet of the civilised native
+may be a predisposing factor. The savage is naturally carnivorous and
+before the advent of the white man, had little to eat but animal flesh.
+Now his chief article of diet in the western parts of the Congo is
+kwanga, which consists chiefly of starch, and he has only a little meat
+and fish. Along the Congo where the native is civilised, there is much
+sleeping sickness, but along the Ubangi where he is more savage, there
+is practically none. The Fathers give us some spirits distilled from the
+papye and pineapple which are very good and beer made from maize which
+is not. They then show us round the grounds and before we leave load us
+with eggs and fresh vegetables which are very acceptable. At sunset we
+tie up to the bank and make a camp. It is wonderful how quickly the
+grass is cut down, the tents erected, fires lighted and dinner cooked,
+for when the native knows he has to perform a certain definite task, he
+works hard, so that he can eat his dinner and get to sleep as soon as
+possible. Chikaia apparently has a fine sense of satire or humour. A
+table was broken and when I asked how it was done, Chikaia instead of
+answering "it has been done a long time" as an European servant would,
+went one better and said "it has always been like that." "I suppose it
+was made so," I replied. "Yes, Sir" was the answer and there was no more
+to be said.
+
+The banks of the river are here lined with villages and each time we
+stop crowds run to see the steamer, while the Chief comes on board,
+shakes hands solemnly and presents eggs, chicken or a goat. In return we
+hand back a good value in cloth, beads or salt. Mitakos are not seen
+here at all, for beads are used instead. The natives always seemed
+grateful and satisfied with their presents, which was rarely the case on
+the Congo where the people generally grumble even when they receive many
+times the value of the article they sell. We camp at the village of Dru,
+where we find it very difficult to pitch tents owing to the rocky nature
+of the soil.
+
+On September 22nd we reach the Kuangu river where is situated the chief
+post of a French Trading Company. The buildings are as usual of bricks,
+the mortar being made of the shells of river oysters and sand. Soon
+after our arrival, a poor native was brought in whose hand had been
+terribly mangled in a circular saw. We dressed it as carefully as
+possible and fixed it on a splint until he could reach a post with a
+hospital. In the night however, weird chanting was heard and next day we
+discovered that his friends had been exorcising the evil spirits--i.e.
+the perchloride of mercury in which the hand had been washed--had torn
+off all the bandages and sent the boy a way in a canoe to avoid the
+white medicine man. The hand will almost certainly fall off and the
+further history of the boy will perhaps be interesting. One of the
+traders, Mr. Constantine, a Swiss, said he had been stationed in the
+interior and had heard no news since January. We are only able to bring
+him up to June, three months behind date. This gentleman has had an
+interesting career. He fought for England in the Matabele war and then
+settled in the Orange Free State where he was commandeered by Cronje and
+forced into the trenches at Magersfontein, but to his own great
+satisfaction was soon taken prisoner by the British and was very well
+treated. He now lives absolutely alone, without a guard of any sort,
+some days' journey from the river and feels quite safe, for the natives
+here look upon a white man as a protection from the Arabs. This Company
+trades in rubber with the natives, paying in beads at the rate of 40
+centimes a kilogramme. It is therefore, unlikely that many natives
+migrate to the French Congo where they receive no more pay for their
+work than in the State, and are besides taxed. The country behind the
+station is flat veldt and only a few small elephants are occasionally
+found. The usual heavy tornado bursts in the afternoon nearly filling
+the launch and boat with water in a very short time. Having bought some
+wine and other stores, from the Company we next day continue up the
+river past many villages all densely populated. The architecture has
+again changed, the huts now being tent shaped and rising to a point in
+the centre which is sometimes ornamented with a pair of antelope horns.
+Some of the villages have plantations and all the inhabitants seem
+desirous to trade, salt being the substance usually demanded in return
+for lances, knives or curios. Indeed, even our own people wish to do a
+little business, and after buying articles from the villagers, try to
+sell them to us at no doubt a greatly enhanced price. The higher one
+travels up the river, the more numerous and densely populated are the
+villages until they extend almost without a break for many miles along
+the banks. Each one supplies us with a _bras_ of wood which is paid for
+with beads. The scenery here in the very centre of Africa is beautiful,
+range after range of hills, not however very high, extending as far as
+the eye can see. These are covered with grass, which near the villages
+is often burnt off, leaving black patches. On these the manioc will be
+planted for two years and then new areas will be cleared in the same
+manner. It is very hot in the day time and very humid, so that it is
+extremely difficult to preserve anything. Stitches rot in leather and
+the soles of boots fall off, guns and rifles have to be oiled carefully
+every day and cigars are completely spoilt in a few hours unless kept in
+tin boxes. Can one wonder therefore that the human system soon breaks
+down in this vapour bath and that sickness is very common in this part.
+There is not much game to be seen from the river but occasionally a
+covey of partridges rises from the grass and comes within gun shot of
+the launch.
+
+The day before we reached Banzyville we found the steamer of the French
+Company and paid a visit to the Director, where we drank to the
+Anglo-French agreement, news of which had just arrived. Every Frenchman
+in Africa is delighted with the gift of territory as every Englishman
+should be with the settlement of so many prickly questions.
+
+[Illustration: SANGO NATIVES OF THE UBANGI.]
+
+[Illustration: THE UPPER UBANGI]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+The Upper Ubangi.--Banzyville to Yakoma.
+
+
+Banzyville has been built on a beautiful site at a double bend of the
+river. Opposite is the French Post of Mobaie and between them roars a
+rapid. The country on each side is hilly, while the soil is rocky, great
+boulders of granite and quartz lying about in isolated grandeur. We
+reach the Post on the morning of September 26th and are met by Captain
+Auita, an Italian, who is the Zone Chief here. The buildings are
+arranged on two sides of a square, the other two being formed by the
+river as it turns to the left, and the open space is covered with gravel
+which makes a welcome change from sand and clay while the house placed
+at our disposal looks particularly inviting after a week of tents and
+the small launch. Everything is wet through and has to be spread out on
+the gravel to dry under nature's great fire. Unfortunately some of the
+skins, which perforce have been left in cases for a week, under water
+one minute and baked in the sun the next, have hopelessly rotted and
+have to be thrown away. Next morning we interviewed numbers of native
+Chiefs who were all very anxious to exchange lances and other
+curiosities for European clothes. All were content with _Bulamatadi_,
+although some grumbled at the necessity to find porters and paddlers.
+
+This is evidently one of the most populous districts in the whole Congo,
+for on all sides, both at the river edge and on the hill tops, are large
+villages consisting of tent-shaped huts and _shimbeks_, or square open
+sheds, under which the natives sit and sleep most of the day. Besides
+rubber, great quantities of rice are grown here, the plantations
+extending parallel to the river for more than two miles. Here men,
+women, and children are at work and those near the road come forward,
+give a military salute and shake hands, a custom peculiar to this part,
+for hitherto the women have not saluted and only the chiefs offered the
+hand. Many of the people have thin lips and Semitic noses and most are
+well made. As usual, if one meets a husband and wife, the former strolls
+ahead with a spear or stick, while the latter follows carrying a baby
+riding on one of her hips, tied on by her wrap of cloth, and with a
+heavy load of wood or food-stuff on her head. We cross the river in the
+evening and dine with Captain Meilleur at Mobaie. The French villages
+are identical with those on the State side, but the natives are, if
+possible, still more idle.
+
+Next morning much rubber is brought into Banzyville. Strings of natives,
+each with a little basket-full of this substance, march into the square
+and sit down in lines on the gravel. The baskets are then weighed on a
+yard arm and the weights entered in a book by Captain Auita until a
+record of the whole has been made when the chattering throng departs to
+a shed near by where five cooks have been hard at work preparing dinner
+for them. The natives here are paid in cloth at the rate of 50 or 60
+centimes a kilogramme according to the quality of the rubber and
+although each man is supposed to supply only one kilogramme a month some
+of the villages here send in more than a ton in that time.
+
+Mr. Fernaka, the second in command, arrived on the 28th after marching
+for thirty days in the interior over unexplored ground. He said it was
+mostly marsh land containing a few villages from which the inhabitants,
+seeing the white man approach with his soldiers, fled into the bush. At
+first indeed the natives are always fearful of the whites, but in a
+short time are willing to trade and soon become very friendly. The
+native, in fact, quickly acquires absolute confidence in Europeans and
+his fear at first is, obviously, only the fear of the unknown. It is
+rather amusing to see the children in villages where few white men have
+penetrated, run shrieking with terror to their mothers when a strange
+looking person, with a white face and clothes appears. At the sound of
+the launch whistle also many children run away. One of the soldiers, a
+sergeant of some years' standing who accompanied Mr. Fernaka on his
+arduous march, unfortunately contracted dysentery and arrived at
+Banzyville only to die. We attend the funeral, the absolute simplicity
+of the ceremony being very impressive. All the troops here, perhaps
+seventy or eighty marched with reversed arms to the cemetery after the
+buglers sounding the Last Post and lined up opposite the grave. The
+order was given to present arms, the coffin was lowered, each person
+present threw a handful of earth into the grave and all was over. Far
+into the night, however, one could hear the mournful dirge the soldiers
+were chanting for their dead comrade. Hunting here is difficult although
+game abounds, the grass being high enough to conceal antelopes and
+everything else except elephants. After a walk through rough country and
+water for six hours without success, I was glad to get into my hammock
+and was jogged back home by perspiring natives, who took turns to carry
+their burden and changed about every ten minutes. Altogether the hammock
+is not comfortable, and it is obviously useless hunting here until the
+grass is burnt. Next day, being very tired and stiff, I pass the time
+looking through _Civilisation in Congoland_ again. Having now visited
+many of the places mentioned in that book, the difficulties which beset
+a writer who publishes a work on a country he has never seen, become
+very apparent. In fact, it gives no more idea of the condition of the
+Congo than a file of the Police News would convey an impression of
+English civilisation. When one has visited some hundreds of villages and
+seen perhaps a million of natives, most of whom seem cheerful and
+contented, one marvels indeed how such absolutely false reports of the
+condition of the country can have originated. On the other hand, it is
+impossible to travel several thousands of miles in the Congo--especially
+in the unfrequented parts--without constantly wondering what is the
+extraordinary power which enables a few hundred white men, not only to
+govern as many million blacks, but to open up and develop a country as
+large as the continent of Europe, which a few years ago was absolutely
+unknown.
+
+We can dismiss at once the idea that the native is suppressed by
+military despotism, for the Posts are isolated and the number of troops
+in them merely sufficient to guard property and stores, that is to say,
+to fulfil the duties of policemen in England. At any moment the
+thousands of natives who live in or near the Posts, could overwhelm
+these small forces long before help could arrive from the next
+Government Station, in many cases a week's journey distant. The fact
+that they do not do so, is at least negative evidence that the white men
+do not ill treat the people. There is however, much positive evidence
+that the native has, not only a great respect, but also an affection for
+his new rulers, and it is not difficult to understand the reason, when
+we compare his fate before the advent of the Europeans with his
+condition at present.
+
+In each village was a Chief or Chiefs, freemen and slaves who passed
+their lives hunting and fighting other tribes. The sole property of the
+Chiefs and freemen were their huts, canoes, and slaves, and the rude
+instruments they used in war and hunting. The unfortunate slaves were
+bought and sold, captured in war and were often killed and eaten. One
+slave was worth so many goats, lances, or knives, and one large canoe
+would buy several women. Legislation rested with the Chiefs and trial by
+ordeal was common, but always so arranged that the result could be
+controlled by the judge. This is not the place however, to describe
+these interesting, if horrible practices.
+
+Now at present the people are rich beyond the wildest dreams of their
+ancestors for the value of the property of the great Chiefs has greatly
+increased, since they have dealt with Europeans. Again the Chief of a
+small village containing 1000 men supplies 1000 kilogrammes of rubber
+each month to the State for 50 centimes a kilo. To collect this amount
+takes two or three days; each year therefore the village receives £240
+for collecting a substance of no value at all to the natives whose daily
+routine in the meantime is scarcely affected at all. The natives used
+ivory chiefly to make war horns, but some of the Chiefs had so much that
+they constructed fences of fine points round their mud huts little
+thinking that in the white man's country, those useless tusks would be
+worth a small mountain of salt. Now they exchange them for clothes,
+cloth, salt, and other useful commodities. The lucky owner of a canoe,
+it is true, can no longer buy three or four slaves with it, but he can
+use it to transport produce or to catch fish, for which he is well paid.
+Again compare the lot of the slave in the past with his present
+condition. He was liable to the most terrible fate at any moment; now he
+can enter the army, work in the plantations or remain safely in his
+village and do a few hours' work each month. There is however, another
+force acting which we should hardly expect would affect the mind of a
+savage. He is greatly influenced by a desire to ascend the social
+ladder at the summit of which, is of course, the white man, and anyone
+having direct dealings with him, at once knows himself to be superior to
+the naked cannibal of the forest. The servant, or _boy_, of the white
+man, holds a high rank and considers himself to be quite another species
+of man than his cousin, who is still uncivilised. So also the soldiers
+and workers in the plantations, who come into daily contact with the
+officials. All the most intelligent and ambitious natives are thus drawn
+away from their primitive condition of life and become attached to their
+masters, who give them cloth to wear and beads with which to beautify
+themselves. The most important Chiefs are as anxious indeed to appear
+like Europeans, as a prosperous native of Sierra Leone, is to wear
+patent boots and carry a silk umbrella. There is one near here named
+Bayer, a young man of much intelligence and business capacity, who has
+built himself a brick house, dresses like a European, and is a proud man
+when he is asked to smoke a cigar on the verandah of the mess. The
+Chiefs are, however, never asked to eat with the Europeans, a
+distinction which is both necessary and wise.
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG SANGO GIRLS AT BANZYVILLE.]
+
+It daily becomes more and more obvious that the white man is greatly
+respected and that his word is absolutely trusted. What he says is true
+and what he promises, he does. The native appears to respect these
+characteristics perhaps all the more because he is so lamentably
+deficient in them himself.
+
+It is indeed the respect caused by moral not physical force which
+enables a few Europeans to govern this great country with success, and
+permits one or two white men to live securely with a few soldiers in an
+isolated Post surrounded by thousands of natives most of whom are
+savage cannibals.
+
+There are, however, many difficulties yet to be surmounted, and among
+them is the arrangement of a satisfactory currency. This was brought
+home forcibly on October 1st when according to weekly custom, the people
+in the villages around brought in food for the Post. Many women appeared
+with large bunches of bananas for which as a rule, they are paid by
+beads. In this prosperous part the heads of the women are already fully
+adorned with beads and most of their household ornaments also, so they
+demanded cloth instead.
+
+The question of the currency is a very difficult one. There is the
+danger of flooding the banks of the Congo with mitakos, and the banks of
+the Ubangi with beads. In other words these articles which function as
+money are not used as rapidly as they are supplied, and a lady whose
+limbs are already weighted with brass rings and whose head is heavy with
+beads, wishes for some other payment. There is a warehouse at each of
+the State Posts in which cloth, clothes, beads, salt, and many other
+commodities likely to be of use to the natives are kept, but it is
+manifestly impossible to give as wages to each individual the particular
+object he desires at the particular moment. The objection to beads and
+mitakos, does not apply to salt and cloth, the former being at once
+consumed, and the latter being worn out in course of time. Nevertheless
+it is not well to have a currency which is continually being formed only
+to be destroyed. The money currency, already existing in the Lower Congo
+will, however, in course of time be extended, but there are still many
+difficulties in the way. Francs and centimes will of course be of no
+use to the natives, unless Stores are still kept at the State Posts at
+which they can buy whatever they wish. This great question is, however,
+occupying the careful attention of the Government, and will no doubt be
+settled as satisfactorily as many others have been which were equally
+difficult.
+
+Sunday is always an interesting day in a State Post, for the Chiefs with
+many followers come in for a friendly chat and to ask advice. October
+2nd was particularly exciting for a new Chief had been elected in a
+village near Banzyville, and great rejoicings consequently followed.
+Singing, shouting, dancing and a general hubbub, went on from morning to
+night, and if the desire to make a noise is any criterion of happiness,
+these people must be the happiest in the world. There are many forms of
+dances; sometimes each one shuffles his legs without moving more than a
+foot or two and then swings his arms, head and body solemnly backwards
+and forwards; sometimes a number will form a ring, and one after the
+other will leap into it and rapidly rotate themselves; but whatever the
+form, all seemed to be keenly excited and to enjoy it thoroughly.
+
+The natives near the Ubangi have a very distinctive tatouage. It
+consists of five elevated knobs of skin which form a straight line
+continuing the line of the nose up the forehead. These are formed by
+making for each knob two parallel incisions in the skin about half an
+inch apart and lifting the flap between. A piece of ivory is then
+inserted under the flap and left in until the wound has healed, the
+result being a knob of skin elevated above the level of the rest of the
+surface. All the tatouage in the Congo consists in raising the skin in
+this manner, but in each district the design is different. Simple
+tatooing by pricking in colours does not appear to be practised at all.
+
+Fishing here is very simple and very effective. Large baskets tapering
+to a point and open at the broad end are fixed by ropes, or rather by
+the strong vines which function as ropes here, just at the top of the
+rapids and the water rushes through with great force. The fish are
+carried into the baskets, but cannot pass through or return against the
+current, and are then simply speared and lifted out. They have firm,
+white flesh and are good eating.
+
+On October 3rd the Chief of the Banzas comes to the Post to call. He is
+a fine, intelligent-looking man and rules his people, who are very
+numerous, admirably. In this part of the Congo, the chieftainship
+descends from father to son, but in some districts the succession passes
+through the family of the wife of the Chief.
+
+Numerous petty Chiefs drop in to the Post at intervals during the day
+and are rather a nuisance, for they are always begging for clothes and
+offering lances and presents in exchange. They do not realise that one
+does not carry a superfluity of clothes when travelling, or that one or
+two lances are quite sufficient to keep as curios. Probably they think
+we are traders for we are not _bulamatadi_, and no one I believe, has
+ever ascended the Ubangi on a pleasure tour before. The newly-elected
+Chief was very anxious to be given a suit of clothes as he had none and
+wished to make an impression on his new subjects. He described with many
+gestures, that he was elected with much beating of drums, which indeed
+was only too true and said he always intended to remain a great friend
+of the State. After that, of course he had to be given some clothes. The
+system of giving _tips_. indiscriminately is however, carried much too
+far in the State, and if it is not stopped, will soon prove to be a very
+heavy tax on the white man. Every native demands a tip on every possible
+occasion whether he has done a service or not, and if he has done some
+work and is only paid his due, is as discontented and abusive as a
+cabman who has only received his legal fare.
+
+There are many native thieves all over the Congo--one of them actually
+penetrated into the house of Captain Auita at midday in bright sunshine
+and stole a spear and a native knife. He was however, soon caught and
+marched off to prison. Trials by ordeal used to be very common among the
+natives. A favourite method was to give a dose of strychnine to a fowl
+and if it died, the accused was guilty, but if it lived, he was
+innocent. The wretched fowl, feeling in any case very ill, walked about
+wondering at the excitement and followed by the complainant shouting
+"die, die, die, fowl" and the defendant shouting "live, live, live,
+fowl." The strength of the solution was always arranged by the judge so
+the verdict was known to him beforehand. A curious instrument to take
+the place of a jury, is a nut through which a piece of fibre has been
+passed in such a way, that when it is held vertically, the nut slides up
+and down. By a curious twist of the fibre however, it is possible to
+prevent the nut falling. At the trial, the nut is raised to the top of
+the string and if it stays there, the accused is innocent, but if it
+falls, he is guilty. Here again, the judge can make the machine decide
+either way at his will.
+
+Among the many objectionable insects of the Congo is the _jigger_, a
+kind of sand fly which burrows under the skin, usually of a toe, and
+deposits eggs in a sack there. Unless these are removed an abscess
+forms. The natives sit about calmly removing jiggers from each other's
+feet with needles, and show considerable skill in this small operation.
+It is necessary therefore never to move about with bare feet, for the
+boys carry them into every place.
+
+Much ivory comes into the Post at intervals, the points sometimes
+weighing 70 or 80 lbs. each. The State preserves the elephant very
+strictly, and the export duty on tusks above 6 kilos in weight, is 21
+frs. per kilo. Still it is not likely that the Congo will continue to
+yield such large quantities of ivory, for the elephant only bears one
+offspring in three years and the growth of the baby is very slow. There
+is a baby elephant here one year old. He stands about 4 feet, 6 inches
+high, and has no sign of tusks at present. He is fed on rice, milk and
+bananas and is a playful little fellow. A tame ape here fears the
+elephant very much and at his approach at once clings to the native who
+tends him or climbs over his shoulder, so as to place the boy's body
+always between himself and the elephant.
+
+On Monday October 10th we prepare to continue our journey up river. We
+shall now require six or seven canoes, as they are not so large as the
+ones lower down and our crews, servants, escort and camp followers total
+up to nearly two hundred. Captain Auita sends a few State capitas with
+us and Captain Meilleur lends us some French soldiers belonging to the
+1st Senegalese Tirailleurs, a splendid set of fellows, very smart in
+their khaki uniforms. We can, therefore, land with impunity on either
+side of the river, _i.e._ in the French or the State Congo, and be able
+to communicate with the Chiefs, for it will be rather difficult perhaps
+to feed so many people.
+
+Next day we start amid the most terrific din. Each of the seven canoes
+carries one or two tom-toms and some have also native bells. All the
+capitas and most of the paddlers shout orders to each other which no one
+regards, even if they hear them, while the friends of the paddlers howl
+farewells from the beach. At length however, the baggage is arranged and
+the little fleet starts in single file, for each canoe hugs the bank.
+Before half an hour had elapsed my canoe struck a rock and stuck on it.
+Fortunately we were not travelling faster than two miles an hour, or a
+hole would have been made in the bottom. As it was, it was necessary for
+half the crew to go overboard, stand on the rock, and lift the canoe
+off. Never was a ship so speedily lightened, and in a few moments we
+were once more afloat.
+
+The river now passes through a kind of gorge not more than half a mile
+wide and continues between hills clad with long grass but after an hour
+or two, it widens out again and the banks become low. The heat is great
+and the unceasing blows on the tom-tom within three feet of one's ears
+are very annoying, but if it is stopped, the crew no longer keep good
+time, and the boat, therefore, travels very slowly. The singing, on the
+other hand, is by no means unpleasant. One of the crew sings a solo, a
+kind of recitative, the words being an extempore criticism, as a rule,
+of the white passenger, and then the whole join in chorus in perfect
+harmony. The music is now wild and weird, now passionate and joyful, but
+always natural. There is nothing of the catch penny type of ditties,
+which become popular in England and America, in these savage African
+songs, nor are they in the least like Chinese or Indian music. The
+instruments are rudimentary; simple zithers, rattles, bells and a kind
+of guitar, but it is probable that all these, except the bells, have
+been introduced by the Europeans or Arabs.
+
+On we creep slowly until we reach the island of Ya which belongs to the
+State. All the other islands, except Bamu, being no man's land. Here we
+land at a large village and while the boys are arranging the camp, we
+see that our party are all fed. The Chiefs are requested to provide
+food, and soon nearly two hundred women appear, each with a wooden
+vessel containing a ration of kwanga, palm oil, salad, bananas,
+plantains, fish, meat, or a general mixture. These they deposit on the
+ground and stand at attention each behind the meal she has prepared. The
+sergeants and capitas distribute the rations among the soldiers and
+paddlers, and at an order of the Chief, the whole crowd disappears into
+the huts. Then we eat our dinner, consisting of the usual chicken and
+eggs, have a game of two-handed bridge and turn in.
+
+Suddenly shrieks are heard coming from a hut and we order the sentry to
+discover the cause. He soon appears with one of our paddlers, who states
+that another one stole his ration, and when he endeavoured to get it
+back, beat him severely. We order him therefore more food, and decide to
+investigate the case in the morning.
+
+Next day after giving cloth to the Chiefs in payment for the food, we
+send for the youth who made so much noise in the night. A poleman now
+stated that the boy had stolen his loin cloth and that therefore he had
+beaten him. This story contradicted the other and further native
+evidence complicated the story still more, so after explaining to the
+poleman that he had no right to beat the boy, even if he were one of his
+crew, and that if such a thing occurred again, he would be severely
+punished, we decided to take no further action.
+
+One of the French soldiers now appeared and told a romantic story. He
+had found a long lost blood sister in the village, the mutual
+recognition being confirmed by the tribal marks. Both had been sold as
+slaves when children; he had drifted into the French native army and she
+had married one of the subjects of the State. Now she wished to leave
+her husband and go away with her brother, who was willing to pay
+compensation for her loss if necessary. As this seemed to raise some
+delicate questions, we refused to take any step, except to report the
+matter to the proper authorities.
+
+After these delays, we started up the river, lined on both sides by
+thickly populated villages. About midday an excited crowd stopped us at
+one of these and asked for our help. As everyone shouted at once and
+probably no one told the truth, it was difficult to discover what was
+the matter, but some women were missing from the French Congo and an
+elephant from the State, and the natives on each bank wished the white
+men to punish those on the other. As private travellers, of course we
+could take no action, even if we had wished, and continued on our way
+already two or three hours late. At length at 6 p.m., Zinga is reached,
+a large village with a fine plantation, and here we camp.
+
+Just above the village the rapids are so strong that it is dangerous to
+take the canoes up charged, and it is necessary to carry all the baggage
+for about three miles across country until smooth water is reached
+again. The capitas wished to attempt the ascent with the canoes full,
+for the native dislikes carrying, more than anything else. We explain
+that if it is necessary for the white men, who can swim, to walk, how
+much more necessary is it to carry the baggage, which would at once sink
+if the canoes capsized. However, this did not convince them and
+Europeans who have had accidents on the river say, that although the
+whole crew, who all swim like fishes, go to the assistance of the white
+man when a canoe capsizes, not one will take the trouble to rescue the
+baggage. Probably the native, whose personal property is limited to a
+loin cloth, thinks all other possessions are useless vanities and not
+worth troubling about. The view here is very beautiful, the river taking
+a double bend between hills which are well wooded and traversed by
+mountain torrents of clear water hastening to join the main stream
+roaring in its rocky bed below. Numerous pintades are usually found
+here, the finest game bird for eating in the whole of Africa, and I go
+ahead of the bearers to search for them, but see nothing of interest.
+
+[Illustration: THE STATE POST AT DJABIR.]
+
+By 8 a.m. the canoes have all passed the rapids, and are charged again,
+so once more we make a start. Soon another rapid is reached which it is
+impossible to negotiate with the paddles. Some of the crew therefore, go
+overboard and standing on the rocks up to their waists in water,
+literally lift the boat up foot by foot until the top is reached.
+After this the river widens again and the current is not so strong. One
+of the canoes is now reserved as a kitchen and carries the goats,
+chickens and other food. It is interesting to watch Luembo sitting
+smoking his pipe over the fire as he cooks the lunch. Nothing disturbs
+his calm serenity and he goes on philosophically making soup even in the
+roughest water. When lunch is ready we stop by the bank, the kitchen
+comes alongside and the hot, strong soup is very acceptable, for it is
+impossible to eat much in the heat of the day.
+
+At night time we decide to stop at the mouth of the Koto river, where is
+a post of the Trading Company of that name, and the two agents there
+kindly extend hospitality to us. Some of the natives here show well
+marked Semitic features and a few, oddly enough, have eyes shaped like
+the Chinese. They are all ready to bring rations for the paddlers and
+accept payment without comment. Indeed, the native never says "thank
+you," but as he speedily lets you know when he is dissatisfied, silence
+obviously means contentment. The Company has a rubber plantation and a
+well kept farm with cows, pigs and sheep which live healthily here.
+
+The Koto river is almost as large as the continuation of the Ubangi and
+rises far away up north. Passing it we continue ascending between banks,
+on which villages are practically continuous the whole way until we
+reach Gumba, a large village on the French side with a hospitable Chief
+and a mud guest house. In this we store the baggage and arrange to sleep
+on the verandah which has fortunately a water-tight, roof for the almost
+daily tornado happened to be of an unusually violent description. The
+lightning is practically continuous and of a vivid, blinding green
+colour; the thunder sounds as if whole streets have been struck and
+knocked down, while the rain descends like the stream of a shower bath.
+
+The Chief's house in this village is oblong, but at the two ends of the
+roof, spire-like tops are affixed, similar to those on the rest of the
+huts in the village. They are not ornamental nor useful, but interesting
+as marking a native characteristic on a house copied from those in the
+Government Posts.
+
+Next morning it was still raining hard, so we waited in the dry without
+anxiety, as we knew the journey to Yakoma would only take five or six
+hours, but about 10 a.m. having emptied the canoes, which were full of
+water, we arranged the baggage and made a start. Village succeeded
+village, in which were numerous people elaborately decorated with beads
+and paint, but not otherwise covered. All the Chiefs were well disposed
+and presented eggs or chicken, and took the cloth or salt offered in
+return without grumbling. About midday we reached the commencement of
+the Yakoma village, which extends for some miles along the bank. Most of
+the crew were evidently well known here and several lived in the
+village. Their well-meaning friends therefore, jumped on to the canoes
+as they passed or swam out to them and took the paddles and poles from
+their tired comrades. With a greatly augmented company, with the canoes
+dangerously deep in the water, with tom-toms beating, bells ringing,
+bugles sounding and people shouting, we arrived at Yakoma about 5 p.m.
+on October 15th thus completing a voyage along the whole length of the
+Ubangi river.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Yakoma to Djabir.
+
+
+Yakoma is built on the banks of the Uele just before it joins with the
+Bomu to form the Ubangi. The voyage up that river from its entrance into
+the Congo to its source here occupied seven weeks of which half the
+time, however, was spent in State Posts. Canoe travelling is terribly
+tiring, although one merely sits still in a hammock chair all day, and
+it has not been by any means comfortable camping in the forest during or
+after the daily tornado. Still the trip has been very interesting for
+this is one of the least known parts of the world and the people are
+probably the least civilised.
+
+This experience brought home the fact with something like a shock that
+human nature is much the same everywhere and that if the savage leads
+the life practically of an animal, he is at the same time not very much
+unlike modern civilised man. He does not wear clothes, but he is very
+vain and adorns himself with beads and bangles, his hair dressing
+requiring hours of patient labour. He is often as pleased at being
+photographed as a young fashionable beauty and, if a warrior, is as
+proud of the paint which shows he has killed some one in battle, as a
+soldier is of his medals. He is frankly commercial in his dealings and
+as anxious to say what he thinks will please his guest as the most
+tactful of society's hostesses. He is as keen to win in a canoe race as
+any undergrad in his college boat and is a genuine and true sportsman.
+He is very jealous as a husband and devoted as a father, characteristics
+common both to animals and to the most intellectual of men. He is, as a
+Chief, by no means hard on his subjects although his punishments are
+barbarous and his sense of justice not greatly developed. He eats human
+flesh but not the diseased livers of geese and he prefers his meat
+decomposing as some like their game. He takes no more thought for the
+morrow than many civilised people who live from hand to mouth without
+considering the future and finally he sees the world from his point of
+view and has little desire to discuss that of others. Mr. Van Luttens
+the Chef du Poste kindly meets us and places a house at our disposal. We
+then read our mail, the first news from home since July, and glance
+through the newspapers. The country around Yakoma is flat and as there
+is no sign of forest, the plantation consists of rubber bushes only.
+Much rice is also grown here and at one time a large amount of coffee
+was raised from plants brought from Liberia but these have since died.
+The native coffee, however, does well and is certainly as good as any in
+the world, so it seems to be wiser to cultivate this and to leave
+foreign varieties alone.
+
+This is one of the very few places in the Congo where the cows give
+more milk than is required by their calves, and where butter can be
+made. The farm is well stocked with horses and cattle for breeding
+purposes which function they fulfil very well, the foals and calves
+looking strong and healthy. All the Chiefs in the neighbourhood come and
+call upon us. They are all very rich, powerful and loyal in this
+district and delight in wearing European clothes or uniforms. One of
+them was dressed in an old naval uniform with an antique sword and
+another as a captain in the State service although he had no right to
+wear the uniform of the Force Publique at all. Just opposite Yakoma on
+the opposite bank of the Uele is a village for retired soldiers where
+they have their own gardens and plantations and live a life of ease but
+are not pensioned. The term of service is for three or seven years with
+option of signing for another three years after the long period with
+increased pay and another three years if desired after that. It is not
+at all uncommon to find sergeants who have served ten or twelve years
+and they are always very responsible men.
+
+As usual the people offer us many native articles in return for cloth
+and we add to our already large collection.
+
+As there is no big game near at hand I decide to make a collection of
+small birds, of which there are very many here, with most beautiful
+plumage. Unfortunately I have no smaller shot than 5-1/2 and it is
+difficult to avoid damaging the smaller varieties. However, by firing
+with the full choke barrel at about fifty yards two or three pellets
+almost always hit even the smallest birds. A very good method of
+preserving them is to inject formol into the bodies which at once
+stiffen out and become rigid in any position they are placed. Birds can
+thus be set with the wings extended in a flying position or as if
+roosting, the effect being much prettier than any which can be obtained
+by stuffing. If is however, necessary to arrange them and inject very
+soon after they are dead for if rigor mortis once sets in, it is
+impossible to alter the position assumed by the head and wings. There
+were great numbers of beautiful birds in the plantation and it was easy
+to obtain over a dozen different specimens in less than an hour[3].
+Red-legged partridges are also found here in the rice, but as in Europe
+this variety will not rise and one may walk all day hearing the familiar
+call on all sides and only obtain one or two shots.
+
+On October 19th I had my first attack of fever, which was not severe and
+soon yielded to phenacetin. It was however, rather a disappointment for
+I had taken five grains of quinine regularly every day since arriving in
+the Congo. The fever ran the same course that it used to do in India ten
+years ago but as it only once appeared in England during that period, I
+hoped it had gone for ever. Hundreds of mosquitoes hummed around with
+the ambitious idea presumably of carrying the germs to some other
+unfortunate.
+
+[Illustration: THE RIVER NEAR BANZYVILLE.]
+
+As we shall now leave the French frontier and travel altogether in State
+territory we send the Senegalese escort down the river back to their
+station at Mobaie. The sergeant who was in charge was a most responsible
+man and was evidently held in great respect by the Chiefs of the French
+villages through which we passed. One day a Chief was greatly
+disturbed because two men from his village had migrated into State
+territory. Although this is against the law it is apparently not a very
+unusual occurrence. Generally these emigrants have committed some crime
+and are fleeing from justice. One Chief, however, at Banzyville stated
+he had left the State territory because he objected to working rubber
+and had returned because he objected still more to paying the tax in the
+French Congo. It is impossible indeed to say which side gains by this
+emigration but it is very evident that it is not altogether one-sided
+and not great enough to affect seriously the size of the population of
+either the French or Free State Congo.
+
+In Yakoma the people are paid chiefly by beads and salt and it is
+interesting to watch the long string of workers filing to the office of
+the Chef du Poste on Saturday, each one carrying a plate, a tin can or
+some other receptacle in which to receive his wages.
+
+On October 22nd we decide to pack up and move on. The skins of the
+larger birds the toucans, razor-bills and serpent birds are keeping very
+badly but those of the monkeys, leopards and antelopes are in better
+condition. It is however, doubtful if they will last, for to preserve
+them it is necessary to hang them out in the sun every day which is
+obviously impossible when travelling. As a small native war is in
+progress higher up the Uele, Mr. Van Luttens kindly arranges to
+accompany us for the first three days in order to ensure that relays of
+paddlers shall be forthcoming for many of those gentlemen have forsaken
+the wooden blade for the iron lance. We are therefore a large party on
+October 23rd when we leave Yakoma in a drizzling rain, the remains of
+the usual nightly tornado. Although the paddlers wear no clothes and do
+not hesitate to jump into the water at any moment it is curious that
+they dislike rain very much and never work so well as when a hot sun is
+shining. The least diminution of temperature indeed affects them very
+much and they sit drowsily over the fire hugging themselves, being
+aroused to action only with difficulty. We number now about two hundred
+including the thirty soldiers and armed capitas, but as the current is
+not very strong we make good headway through somewhat flat and
+uninteresting country until we arrive at Prekissa, a large village on
+the north bank of the Uele.
+
+Here we were received by the Chief of the Abira tribe, a great potentate
+who sat in a long hammock chair surrounded by courtiers and ministers
+squatting on the ground and holding spears of state on each side of him.
+Having welcomed us he escorted us through the village which is of great
+extent and well arranged. Opposite his square hut or palace is the Guard
+House in which are a few soldiers armed with cap-guns for he has some
+independent authority and the power of life and death in certain limited
+cases. Behind the palace are many rows of round huts close together. Not
+a soul is visible or a sound heard for these are the quarters of the
+wives of the Chief and except the official lady who acts as legal queen
+none are presented to the white men. The present Chief is a keen
+commercial man and understands the advantage of being on good terms with
+the Slate for he has a large rubber plantation and also works metals.
+The blast furnace is most interesting. It is simply a pit about two
+feet wide and deep formed by banking up clay and earth for several feet
+around which has been dried by the great heat of the furnace into a hard
+stony substance. Indeed at first sight the pit looks like a hole dug in
+solid rock. In it is placed iron stone and wood charcoal which is
+lighted and a blast made by several pairs of bellows formed of antelope
+skins. The molten metal is not run off but remains with the slag in the
+pit until it is cool when the latter is chipped away and the shapeless
+mass of iron is ready to be worked into spears and lances by the
+blacksmiths. Probably this method is a very ancient one indeed, and it
+is curious that it should resemble so closely the modern Bessemer
+process for making steel. Having walked through the village we return to
+our camp on the river bank and the Chief presents spears. He then
+proceeds to ask for anything he takes a fancy to in return. We had
+already given him cloth much more valuable than his lances when he
+suddenly demanded tobacco. I gave him the contents of my pouch and he
+then asked for that also. He next asked me to give him my jacket and
+finally wished to buy my cap for two ivory finger rings. To receive a
+present from a Congo chief is thus a very expensive honour. He then sat
+down and smoked while we eat, for it is contrary to custom to ask a
+native to dine at the same table as a white man.
+
+We start again next morning at 6 a.m. The banks of the river are now
+assuming an equatorial appearance for we are in the third degree of
+latitude and palms grow in great profusion but the country is flat and
+uninteresting. About midday we land at Gembele, a large village with an
+extensive plantation. The Chief is a young, good-looking man with
+refined European features and a very gentlemanly manner. He owns a large
+island, many iron and copper mines and is very wealthy. When one was
+introduced to him he pointed with pride to the State medal he was
+wearing round his neck, a medal which is given to all Chiefs of whose
+election or succession the Government approves. An important feature of
+this village is a round enclosure built of trunks of trees and roofed
+with leaves which serves as a Chamber of State wherein discussions take
+place and justice is administered. Gembele only succeeded his father a
+year ago and among other responsibilities he has to take care of
+numerous wives, step mothers and aunts, the legacies of his father and
+uncles. They seem, however, to be well-disciplined for they were sunning
+themselves when we suddenly appeared round a corner but at a wave of the
+hand of the boy of the Chief, they all rushed for cover and not one
+turned round to try and catch a glimpse of the white men. Possibly they
+have peep-holes in the walls of their huts for it would be too much to
+expect them to have no feminine curiosity. Gembele is evidently
+respected by his people but he has a somewhat serious look as though he
+felt the cares of his position heavily. There is a strong rapid opposite
+the village so we allow the canoes to go up empty and enter them again
+above it. It is now intensely hot and progress is slow but we reach the
+village of Sembile before sundown and pitch our tents in a clearing. The
+huts here are still round and the people practically nude but the custom
+of wearing beads has disappeared and very few are painted.
+
+There is a bright moon which acts here as a clock by night as the sun
+does by day. As the latter passes practically straight overhead it is
+astonishingly easy to tell the time within half an hour after a very
+little practice. It is more difficult to use the moon as the point of
+the hour-hand and requires some care. This, however, is the only means
+the sentry has of determining 5 a.m. when we wish to be roused for he
+could not read a watch.
+
+We start again at daylight and ascend the river to Voro where we land
+with all baggage for the rapids here are so strong that it is necessary
+to walk for several miles. We therefore start in a procession of more
+than one hundred people along a narrow foot-path while the crews take up
+the empty canoes. The guide leads and I follow next, hoping to shoot any
+game that may exist in the neighbourhood before it is disturbed by the
+bearers. It is, however, speedily apparent that with the exception of
+birds it will not be possible to see any game at all for the grass is
+very thick and about eight feet high. After a time my gun weighs heavy
+so I give it to a bearer and a moment after two fine pheasants rise a
+few yards away. All around is evidence of game. Great tracts through the
+grass where the stately elephant has passed to drink at the river, spoor
+of buffalo and antelope at every water course and yet not a sign of life
+now for the sun is high up and a hundred bearers are yelling and singing
+close behind. After walking for about two hours we reach forest and
+enter its welcome shade. A small stream prattles cheerfully along under
+the trees and as the path several times passes through it we keep our
+feet comfortably cool. About 2 p.m. we reach a village beautifully
+situated on a slope in the midst of dense forest. This is protected on
+all sides by a strong stockade twelve feet high for leopards abound and
+when game is difficult to find do not hesitate to enter villages and
+carry off people. Here we halt for lunch and then on again through the
+forest full of cuckoo pheasants. These are not much more difficult to
+shoot than hand reared birds at home although they fly higher to clear
+the tall trees. They do not, however, appear to travel very quickly but
+this may be a delusion as it is difficult to judge distance in Africa.
+No other game birds come within range. Late in the afternoon we reach
+Bogosi, a large clean and well arranged village. The Chief is a pleasant
+fellow perfectly willing to sell us food for our party; and monkeys,
+tortoises or anything else we may desire for ourselves. Here we change
+all our paddlers the present ones going back to their villages. As the
+tribe is at war with one higher up the river, Mr. Van Luttens thought it
+might be difficult to obtain paddlers here and so came himself. With his
+aid, however, the difficulty vanished for he arranged with the Chief
+that the paddlers who took us to Djabir should not be called upon to do
+any more work for the State for nine months. That is to say that the
+enforced forty hours a month would work out at six or seven days
+paddling in nine months and as each man was liberally paid in cloth no
+one could possibly say that he was used hardly. Having bathed in the
+swiftly running river we dined in the enclosure which did duty as the
+Council Chamber and then thoroughly tired turned in early.
+
+It was not until 9 a.m. in the morning that we could make a start for
+all the baggage had to be fitted into the canoes and the paddlers
+arranged in their places. The first day with new crews is always a
+trouble but this is never repeated for the native has a good memory and
+every bale, bag, gun and even small articles like books are taken from
+the canoes each evening and put back in identically the same place in
+the morning. This is remarkable when one thinks that some hundreds of
+separate articles have to be placed in one of seven or eight different
+canoes in one particular place.
+
+The river is heavily in flood for this is the end of the wet season and
+the current is very strong indeed. Soon we come to the first rapid and
+one of the men drops his pole overboard at the critical moment. The
+other two, however, hold the canoe up by pressing against the rocks
+while the water whirls past within an inch of the edge of the little
+craft. At a word from the capita one of the paddlers jumps into the
+rushing water, rescues the pole and lands safely with it on the bank,
+fifty or sixty yards below. All the Sangos swim like salmon but cannot
+of course leap up rapids. They however, swim so powerfully that they
+steer clear of the rocks and reach the side even in the swiftest
+current. On we go slowly struggling up rapid after rapid and when it is
+impossible to paddle and pole the canoes against the stream the crew
+stand on the rocks and lift them up. Sometimes the drop is three feet at
+one spot and it is perfectly marvellous how these men can thus stand
+waist deep in the water. Naturally we ship a good deal of water which
+wets everything through and through but the crew take this as a matter
+of course and bale it out at intervals while the boys take care the
+firearms are not injured. The amount of actual work the crew do must be
+enormous yet they never seem fatigued and sing as lustily at the end as
+at the beginning of the day. At length we pass the island of Mutemu and
+seek for a place for a camp. There is not much choice for the forest is
+very dense here and it is necessary in every place to clear the
+undergrowth before the tents can be pitched. Then fires are lighted and
+all are soon asleep.
+
+We start again at daybreak and at once commence the fight with the
+rapids. Soon after a Chief appears in a canoe, and having explained that
+he is at war with a neighbouring tribe hopes it will not inconvenience
+the white man. On being asked why he is fighting he states that he has
+lost two women and thinks they have been stolen. I then told him war was
+a mistake and I hoped he would make peace as soon as possible, at which
+he looked a little surprised and answered that he expected to be
+successful and capture several women as well as men.
+
+The navigation of the Uele at this part of its course is so difficult
+that there are very few villages on its banks for the native who lives
+near a stream hardly ever walks and he will not settle unless he can
+travel by canoe. For this reason there is often no pathway at all
+between villages only a mile or two apart on the river bank. The few
+people there are have probably never seen a white man for as far as one
+can ascertain no one has been up here for ten years. However, where
+there is a village the Chief comes on board and presents a chicken.
+About midday the kitchen canoe paddles by with fire alight and pot
+boiling. Soon after Chikaia shouts: _Le cuisinier est tombé dans l'eau_,
+and a little way ahead is seen a canoe apparently upside down close to
+the bank and twelve or fifteen black heads bobbing up and down in the
+water. Mountmorres is just ahead in his canoe and easily within reach
+but to my surprise his paddlers suddenly turn away from the bank and
+make for mid-stream evidently straining every muscle. Turning round I
+order my crew to pull rapidly to the rescue but to my disgust they also
+turn into mid-stream and take no notice of my command. Having asked
+Chikaia the meaning of this he replied: _La petite bête qui mange
+l'homme_. Chikaia's knowledge of zoology and French being somewhat
+limited every animal is for him either a _petite_. or a _grande
+bête_. The information was therefore not very valuable for it was
+impossible to imagine what small beast was in the habit of eating
+people. Thinking, however, of a crocodile I took my rifle but Chikaia
+laughed and said: "_Non, non, la petite._" By this time we were well out
+in mid-stream opposite the kitchen canoe which--to add to the
+mystery--was not upset at all. The cook, the crew, the goats and the
+fowls were all, however, in the water. No danger was apparent for the
+crew were swimming at their ease and hoisting the live stock back into
+the canoe. It is useless being astonished at anything in Africa and
+there was obviously nothing to do but sit still while the crew raced
+along as fast as they could paddle. In a few minutes they pulled into
+the bank and there we waited for the kitchen which presently appeared
+with the cook reclining in the arms of one of the crew and moaning: "_Je
+mart, je mort_." After a rapid examination, however, I could find
+nothing at all the matter. At length we discover the truth. His canoe
+had run into a large hornet's nest hanging from the branch of a tree and
+he had been stung in the head. To avoid further damage, he and the whole
+of the crew not only jumped into the water themselves but threw all the
+live stock overboard as well, for the natives believe that the sting of
+this insect kills and they fear it more than an encounter with a wild
+beast. The cook was therefore in a highly hysterical condition and no
+doubt in considerable pain also although no mark of a sting could be
+discovered, amidst his thick curly black hair. Still I took him into my
+canoe, gave him whisky internally and bathed his head with permanganate
+of potassium and he was quite well next day. After this delay we
+struggle on until just before dark we reached the worst rapid on the
+river the Kandoko Falls, up which the canoes are lifted inch by inch.
+Everything was already wet so the fact that a terrific tornado burst
+before we could pitch the tents added but little to our discomfort.
+
+On again at daybreak and after one or two ineffectual attempts to
+negotiate the last strong rapid on this piece of the river we conquer it
+and reach smooth water. In the course of the morning a canoe intercepts
+us in which is a native dressed as a State capita and armed with a gun.
+He says he has been sent by a white man to tell us not to sound our
+tom-toms as it will attract the hostile tribe and they will attack our
+camp. We ask for the letter for white men never send verbal messages by
+natives and when it was not forthcoming became suspicious that our
+visitor was spying our strength. We told him that we were peaceful
+travellers, that we should beat our tom-toms as much as we liked and
+camp where we wished and that if the tribe attacked us we should defend
+ourselves. Probably our rifles made an impression for we were not
+molested at all during the day and at night camped in the village of the
+hostile tribe. Our paddlers indeed fraternised with the enemy, against
+whom they would have been fighting if they had not been employed by us.
+
+[Illustration: THE SULTAN OF DJABIR.]
+
+The usual tornado burst in the night and we did not make a start until
+7 a.m. when we continued up the river and passed several villages before
+2 p.m. when Djabir came in sight. The view of the town from the distance
+is very pretty indeed. In the centre is an old fort with four towers now
+partly demolished and on each side the houses of the officials
+stretching along the river bank. Here we land two hours afterwards and
+feel that at last we shall have a night's rest without fear that our
+habitation will be blown away or soaked with water.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[3] Now in the British Museum (Natural History).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Across Uele.--Djabir to Ibembo.
+
+
+Djabir is a disappointing place. Although very imposing from a distance
+it is being rebuilt at present and at close quarters it becomes obvious
+that some of the old houses are in a very bad state of repair. Some
+welcome newspapers meet us here and I am delighted to learn that the
+Government has passed the Licensing Bill and that the Japanese are still
+successful. The Sultan of Djabir sent his brother a young gentleman who
+has been educated and speaks French, to present a small ivory war-horn
+and to demand several times its value in cloth. Afterwards he sold us
+some other articles but, although he received full value for them he
+repented of his bargain next day and demanded them back again. Of course
+we let him take them. The Sultan himself seems to be equally difficult
+to deal with and although the State has given him the rank of Captain in
+the Force Publique and tried to humour him in every way he is not a good
+subject. His village has the usual characteristics with some signs of
+Arab civilisation.
+
+Lord Mountmorres is now anxious to hasten to Bumba for the rest of the
+mail and if necessary to send a special courier to Coquilhatville with a
+cablegram while I arrange to follow more slowly and hunt the country in
+between. He therefore leaves Djabir on October 31st taking only one boy
+and a little baggage. It is a very hot day and at night-time a heavy
+tornado bursts over the Post. I wake up in a pool of water for the roof
+leaks badly and by bad luck just over my bed. Having moved this to a dry
+spot it is possible to sleep but not for long for the mosquito net was
+fixed to the wall where I left it forgetting the little pests. It is now
+a question of bites or water and as the latter seems cooler I replace
+the bed and fixing the roof of the net on the slope so that the heaviest
+part of the shower will run off, pass the rest of the night in
+comparative comfort. It is indeed time the place was rebuilt for at
+present Djabir has a depressing air of former greatness and present
+decay. As there are no elephants near and the antelopes are very small,
+I arrange to leave on November 1st but on starting to repack find many
+of the antelope skins are rotten and order them to be thrown away while
+the native lances and spears are covered with red rust, and have to be
+cleaned, smeared with palm oil and repacked.
+
+I start next morning to cross Uele, but as it is impossible to obtain
+more than thirty five porters some of the baggage has to be left behind.
+The loads are carried here in rather a curious manner. The porters make
+a hand of coarse grass fibres and pass it over the crown of the head
+which is inclined forwards. The band is attached to the bale or box
+which itself rests on the back between the shoulders. Then leaning
+forward the porter, carrying 50 lbs, walks at 3-1/2 miles an hour over
+rough roads for three or four hours with scarcely a stop. Having crossed
+the river the caravan is formed and at once strikes along the path
+through the villages on the opposite bank to Djabir.
+
+We are now on a frequented route and the villages and people show far
+more signs of the influence of the white man than those on the Ubangi.
+The huts are square, thatched with leaves and have verandahs while most
+of the men and many women wear clothes. The tatouage also is here very
+different for the vertical line on the forehead is not seen and a
+horizontal line of small elevations just above the level of the eyes is
+very common; there are however, various other devices on the cheeks and
+the lobes of the ears are sometimes pierced for the insertion of a ring
+of ivory nearly as large as a serviette ring. The natives are very
+polite, every single one giving a salute so that at the end of a long
+village one's arm aches with returning it. Chicken and eggs can be
+bought here for cloth at about the price one pays in an expensive shop
+in London. Some of the natives said nothing and were satisfied while
+others grumbled but did not take back their goods. One man sold nine
+eggs for about 2/- of which only three were fit to eat and demanded
+4/- for a chicken little larger than a pigeon.
+
+The natives here seem to have been spoilt by the whites who must have
+given them very high prices for food at first, and these have never been
+reduced. Naturally demand and supply affect the price considerably. A
+native refused to sell us a duck at Coquilhatville for 14/-, for ducks
+are rare. On the other hand in remote villages rarely visited by white
+men, the people will sometimes give two chickens for an empty wine
+bottle and would practically sell themselves for salt so fond are they
+of that substance. This they eat alone and relish immensely for the
+native salt is very unpleasant. It is made from water lilies and certain
+forms of grass which are burnt slowly under a fire, the resulting ash
+containing a large quantity of sodium chloride. It is however, mixed
+with sulphur, charcoal and other impurities and to remove these the ash
+is placed in water when the sodium chloride and other soluble salts
+enter into solution. This is then evaporated to dryness in the sun and
+forms native salt.
+
+Once clear of the line of villages which extend for two or three miles,
+the path enters dense forest and the walk becomes pleasant. Palms are
+abundant and the _parasol_. tree very common. Overhead are pigeons, a few
+ducks and, as usual, thousands of parrots. I shot a few either for the
+larder or for their skins all of which fell in the dense undergrowth.
+Without a retriever these were no doubt difficult to find but it was
+curious that the birds with beautiful feathers and indifferent flesh
+were always picked up while the ducks and pigeons usually could not be
+found. All the porters returned along this path the next day and perhaps
+were then more successful and enjoyed the game which would not be harmed
+by hanging for a day in a tree. The road is a good one being sometimes
+five or six feet wide and most of the marshes and streams are crossed by
+rude wooden bridges formed by trunks of trees laid parallel to each
+other.
+
+[Illustration: WARRIORS AT DJABIR.]
+
+Most of the way is up a gentle incline for we are now passing over the
+ridge which separates the watersheds of the Ubangi and the Congo. At
+intervals along the road are small clearings in some of which are
+capitas armed with cap-guns to protect the rubber caravans from
+thieves. About midday we reach Kaki-kaki, a clearing in the forest in
+which is a mud house for the use of white men passing through and here I
+call a halt for we have marched about twelve or thirteen miles.
+
+On again next morning at daybreak the path continuing through the
+forest, and as it is quite cold at this hour and the exercise is
+pleasant we march briskly only stopping to shoot occasionally. After
+leaving Kaki-kaki the streams flow south instead of north which shows
+that after fighting our way up rivers for four months we have now
+reached the highest point of our journey and are at length going down
+hill.
+
+It is indeed a great relief to think that instead of struggling up
+rapids, when next we take to canoes we shall be whirled rapidly down
+stream. There is, however, nothing like a mountain or even a
+considerable hill in this part of Uele. After an hour or two the forest
+ends and we cross a plain covered with grass only four to six feet high
+on which clumps of trees and bushes are dotted about. On every side are
+traces of elephant, antelope and wild cattle but the sun is now high on
+his brilliant course and only man is foolish enough to work in the day
+time in Central Africa. It is indeed very hot marching for there is no
+shade and it is necessary to change the gun for the umbrella. In another
+hour we reach the string of villages constituting the territory of the
+Sultan of Enguetra who like the Sultan of Djabir is not a particularly
+good chief. His people, however, receive the porters kindly and give
+them bananas. Then on again under a very fierce sun until the north bank
+of the Likati river is reached. Here we enter a canoe and are rapidly
+paddled down the stream which is only about twenty yards wide, until we
+reach a clearing in the forest in which the Post of Enguetra is being
+built by Lieutenant Gaspard. In a few weeks he has constructed a fine
+brick house of two storeys with a large verandah looking down a natural
+avenue to the river.
+
+At this time of the year--the early days of November--the Post is
+practically an island for the river flows on one side and on the other
+three water is standing in the forest to the depth of three or four
+feet. This is no doubt good for the rubber vines but bad for hunting.
+However, I determine to settle here for a week or two and hunt the
+forest and plains about. Next morning herefore I start at 5 a.m. in the
+dark and follow the guide who evidently feels the cold and steps out at
+a good pace. After passing through the plantation we strike into dense
+forest and the walking becomes very difficult. Roots of trees below,
+branches and vines above have to be dodged all the time and it is a
+relief to march along the bed of a stream even if it has two or three
+feet of water in it. It is impossible to see for more than a yard or two
+on each side through the dense undergrowth and the sun and sky are quite
+invisible although patches of lights show that the former is now well
+above the level of the tallest tree. Traces of elephant and antelope
+abound, the former being of small size without points worth having.
+After two hours we reach the plain and find the water nearly six feet
+deep. There is no place about to pitch a tent and it is extremely
+difficult marching in the forest in the night, but the only chance of an
+elephant is to be here an hour or two before daybreak. Indeed it is
+almost impossible to hunt until the water subsides and that means
+waiting for over a month. However there are plenty of small beasts and
+birds so the day was not altogether wasted.
+
+The Congo is undoubtedly the land of exaggerations. Everything here is
+bigger or smaller than any where else. If the elephants are the largest
+in the world the insects are the smallest and Enguetra is especially
+favoured by their attendance. Millions of little beasts fall on one all
+day long. Soup might here be called hexapoda bouillon and a glass of
+wine in a few minutes becomes a tincture of insects. Butterflies are
+especially numerous and are of groat beauty. They are so lazy or sleepy
+that one can nearly always pick them up with one's fingers. Ducks are
+not agile creatures on land but here they waddle slowly up to the
+butterflies and as often as not catch them in their beaks.
+
+The native is a curious mixture of simplicity and cunning He is very
+fond of strong alcohol but does not care much for wine. The mess boy
+here apparently stole some whisky and instead of filling the bottle up
+with water added red wine to the requisite amount. Of course the colour
+led to instant detection and of course he knew nothing about it, but he
+lurched about violently as he waited at dinner and it was obvious the
+new European drink was acting rather forcibly. It is very troublesome to
+have to lock up every bottle when travelling, yet it is absolutely
+necessary. There is, however, I hear a patent lock which can be fixed
+over the cork and is easily fastened to the bottle. This is worth
+remembering.
+
+One day Chikaia slated that the Sultan of Enguetra intended to attack
+the Post that night and if he had done so it might have fared badly
+with us for we were only two white men with perhaps fifteen or twenty
+soldiers. However, a heavy tornado broke and perhaps the warriors
+refused to face the storm for nothing happened. The boys were very
+alarmed and did not hesitate to say so. As the relationship between the
+Sultan and the State was not very satisfactory the report might have
+been true, otherwise it might well have been idle gossip. War had then
+not been declared but the State soon after sent a force to occupy the
+district.
+
+Chikaia, who is a Christian, formed a violent attachment to a woman who
+worked in the plantation here and asked to be allowed to marry her,
+although at the time she appeared to be the wife of a soldier with whom
+she was living. Chikaia, however, said she was not legally married, so
+we investigated the case. The supposed husband swore they were married,
+the woman swore they were not. The man, however, in this case evidently
+lied for he said the ceremony took place at a certain Post and was
+conducted by a certain official. Now only Commissaires of Districts and
+Missionaries can legalise marriages and the official named was neither.
+After representing to Chikaia that the woman did not seem a very
+desirable wife, I gave my permission to his marriage, provided that the
+Catholic Missionaries, to which church he belonged, were willing to
+perform the ceremony for the woman was not a Christian. The woman was
+very pleased and thanked me in the native fashion by at once asking for
+a necklace of beads for a wedding present. The demand for _tips_. becomes
+sometimes quite humorous. A native girl fell down and cut herself and
+one of the officials dressed the wound until it healed. The parents
+then came and asked for a tip and when the astonished individual
+required to know the reason said that the girl had been every day to
+have her wound attended to and she ought to be paid for it.
+
+One day as I was sitting after lunch half asleep, a green and white
+serpent glided through the open door into my room. It happened that my
+guns were leaning against the opposite wall and I did not fancy jumping
+over the beast, so simply shouted. It then withdrew on to the verandah
+and I followed as quickly as possible with a gun. In the meantime
+Chikaia came running up and gave it several blows on the back with a
+heavy piece of wood. The sentry then appeared and before I could stop
+him cut off its head. The skin was thus spoilt which was a great pity as
+it measured more than ten feet in length.
+
+As it was not easy to procure paddlers at Enguetra I decided to send on
+one of the boys Mavunga with some of the heavy baggage on November 17th
+and to follow him the next day. He was very nervous at the idea of
+travelling alone and wished to borrow a revolver, but this of course I
+refused. It is curious that these coast boys fear the natives of the
+interior so much and still more curious that the presence of a single
+white man at once restores confidence. It is indeed becoming more
+apparent every day that the natives have a very genuine respect and
+admiration for the Europeans and credit them with powers which neither
+they nor any other people possess.
+
+I leave Enguetra on the 18th in a most comfortable canoe with an awning
+so high that it is possible to stand upright, a great luxury in canoe
+travelling. The Likati flows swiftly through dense forests and we glide
+down the rapids very quickly and comfortably. No villages exist along
+the banks and nothing is visible except the forest until we reach
+Kati-kati a clearing in which a mud hut has been erected for the
+convenience of travellers. I went for a stroll in the forest but after
+half an hour was stopped by an unpleasant palpitation of the heart.
+Although the distressing symptom passed away quickly it was obvious it
+might occur again and then I realised for the first time that I was very
+anaemic and that hard exertion would be impossible for some time. This
+was the more annoying for the country around was particularly rich in
+game. We leave at sunrise which is, however, concealed by a thick water
+mist and speed along until we reach Dzamba or Ekwanga-tana close to the
+point where the Likati and Rubi rivers join to form the Itimbiri. Dzamba
+is a transit port where cargoes are transhipped from canoes into a small
+steamer the _Milz_ which plies between it and Buta the capital of Uele.
+As the _Milz_ departed the next day I decided to travel in her and thus
+altered my original plan of descending direct to the Congo. The Rubi is
+about three times as wide as the Likati and also flows through dense
+forest which is only broken here and there by Wood Posts. Although the
+water is high and the current strong the _Milz_ which is a twin-screw
+steamer, travels well and early on the third day we arrive at Buta. The
+Post is being moved and some brick houses have already been built, one
+of which is placed at my disposal. After settling in it I call upon
+Baron de Rennette, the Commissaire of Uele which is a very important
+District for through it runs the path to the Nile and it has frontiers
+both to French and English territories. The Lado Enclave, however, is
+governed separately by a special official.
+
+One now realises fully the extreme difficulty and expense of transport
+across Africa. Take for example a bale of cloth shipped at Brussels and
+addressed to Bomokandi. It is very possible that this will be
+transhipped at Banana into a lighter which will be towed to Matadi;
+secondly it will travel by train to Leopoldville; thirdly by steamer to
+Bumba beyond which point the larger vessels do not run; fourthly by
+small steamer to Ibembo; fifthly by canoe to Dzamba during which journey
+it has to be carried by hand past some rapids; sixthly by the _Milz_ to
+Buta and seventhly by hand to Bomokandi. Every basket of rubber and
+point of ivory exported and every box of food or bale of cloth imported
+is indeed constantly being transhipped and then conveyed by various
+methods a few hundred miles on its journey. The example given is by no
+means an extreme one, and many others could be traced in almost any
+direction. The reason is simple. Although the whole of Central Africa is
+traversed by rivers which eventually flow into the Congo, both the main
+river and its tributaries are in places impossible to navigate owing to
+the rapids. Great efforts are, however, being made to overcome these
+obstructions. Wherever possible railways are being constructed and roads
+made to avoid them the latest great work initiated being the automobile
+road through Uele. It is indeed impossible now to carry by hand the
+great amount of merchandise passing up and down the country, even if the
+natives were willing to undertake the task. This is, however, the very
+work they dislike most and during my visit an immense quantity of
+stores was lying at Buta and could not be forwarded owing to lack of
+porters. The automobile road will change all this, for trains of waggons
+carrying the merchandise will then be quickly and easily towed by road
+engines. Passengers will also be conveyed in a similar manner and it is
+reasonable to prophesy that in five or ten years time it will be
+possible to cross Africa from the Nile to Banana without travelling a
+single mile in canoes or on foot.
+
+At present the difficulty of transport chiefly affects the comfort of
+the officials for their stores of food may be delayed for some weeks and
+although it is possible to live on kwanga, goats and chickens, it is not
+a suitable diet for Europeans. Less difficulty is experienced with the
+exportation, for the rubber and ivory are always travelling down the
+hill towards the mouth of the river. Baron de Rennette fully realises
+how extremely important it is to have good food in this exhausting
+climate and took his native cook to Europe to receive some lessons in
+the culinary art. He has been rewarded for his trouble and now lives
+almost as well as he could at home. Good food, indeed, is almost as
+necessary in Africa as pure water. After a hard day's work in this
+climate it is impossible either to relish or to digest goat's flesh or
+tough chicken and the result is weakness followed by fever, anaemia or
+dysentry. When travelling it is still more difficult to obtain properly
+cooked food, and it was thus especially pleasant to find oneself dining
+off a clean white cloth with clean silver, hot plates and food cooked
+and served in a manner which would have been a credit to a London club.
+
+There is a good path to Bima and Bomokandi and I was thinking of taking
+this ten day's walk when an attack of fever caused me to change my plans
+again. While still at Buta Mgr. Derikx arrived. He was on a tour of his
+diocese and expected to be travelling for a year. I was very pleased to
+see him and was bound to confess that all he had told me of the Congo on
+the voyage out was strictly accurate. Having recovered from the fever
+and on the recommendation of Baron de Bennette, commenced a course of
+arseniate of soda, I left Buta on November 28th in the _Milz_. The small
+steamer rapidly descended the river for the water was now falling
+rapidly. Many crocodiles had ascended this small river to lay their eggs
+and were lying on sandbanks but we travelled so quickly that it was
+impossible to shoot them. Near Buta is one of the villages constructed
+for and by old soldiers and, like the rest of these institutions, this
+one is very well arranged and kept forming a striking contrast to the
+ordinary native village. It is indeed extraordinary how the savage can
+be changed into a civilised being by a few years of military discipline.
+
+I reach Dzamba again on the 29th and continue the journey in canoe on
+the next day. The current is running swiftly down the Itimbiri and after
+an hour we arrive at a rapid and march through the forest while the
+canoe descends without passengers. The river winds here very much so
+that although the current is very strong it is more than an hour before
+the canoe arrives at the village, which we reached walking, in about
+twenty-minutes. The journey up is very slow and tedious for the baggage
+has to be carried by hand along this short cut through the forest. It
+is therefore proposed to build a light railway to relieve the native of
+this task.
+
+I reach Ibembo on the 30th and am met by Lieutenant Francois, the Chef
+du Poste. It is a large station with a big mess for many travellers are
+continually passing through. On this date three hundred and fifty
+soldiers with their officers were marching through with the object of
+occupying Enguetra and its district until the Sultan becomes a little
+more reasonable. It is very difficult for the troops to avoid ambuscades
+in the forest. They march in a hollow square formation with the women,
+who carry much of the baggage, in the centre. Each soldier carries a
+knife and literally cuts his way through the undergrowth. If the head,
+flanks or rear of the square is attacked the men close up and meet the
+enemy with a steady fire for they always march with the rifle loaded.
+Progress is naturally very slow and the enemy difficult to catch, while
+the chance of being hit by a poisoned arrow or a lance hurled from
+behind a tree is always present. The soldier however, is very plucky and
+well earns his twenty-one cents each day, and the one franc twenty-five
+cents a month which is reserved for him.
+
+[Illustration: THE ITIMBIRI RIVER.]
+
+Next day I visit the Catholic Mission of Ibembo and am received by
+Father Benin who is in charge in the absence of Mgr. Derikx. The Mission
+is situated on a plateau about 200 feet high on the opposite bank to the
+Post, but a little lower down the stream and the whole place is
+admirably arranged, the view across the river being especially
+beautiful. Three hundred natives, mostly children, are engaged in the
+plantations and gardens all being dressed in a pretty uniform and
+appearing healthy and happy. There is indeed, very little sickness
+here, for the buildings and grounds are as scrupulously clean as those
+of a State Post. In a well-fitted carpenter's shop the entire furniture
+for the chapel and houses has been made from the wood of old canoes
+which is hard and well-seasoned. The boys also work in ivory, turning
+serviette rings with great accuracy and skill. Four or five brethren and
+five sisters form the staff of the Mission and one of the latter
+superintends the cooking with most happy results.
+
+Next day I walk through the native villages near Ibembo where most of
+the men fish and the women make pots of clay. There are a great number
+of children about and very little sickness. Sunday as usual was market
+day and the people from the neighbourhood brought in kwanga, fish, eggs,
+chicken and three antelopes. Food is sold for mitakos three of which
+will purchase enough kwanga to feed a man and woman for a day. In the
+afternoon a Chief arrives with the not unusual story that a troup of
+elephants have entered and destroyed his plantation of manioc. We
+arrange therefore to start at 4 a.m. next morning on the chance that
+they will repeat their visit, but a heavy tornado in the night renders
+hunting impossible. After spending a pleasant week at Ibembo, I prepare
+to descend the river to Bumba and then to ascend the Congo to Stanley
+Falls.
+
+[Illustration: BASOKO FROM THE RIVER.].
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+Ibembo to Stanley Falls.
+
+
+The _Delivrance_ a steamer built on the same lines as the _Florida_
+arrives at Ibembo on December 5th with a large cargo of cloth, clothes,
+beads, salt and other articles for barter, and also cases of food for
+the Europeans. This is almost her last voyage up the Itimbiri this
+season, for soon the waters will have fallen so low that the river will
+be navigable only by canoes. No time is wasted in the Congo State. As
+soon as the cargo was discharged, the empty holds were filled with
+baskets of rubber and ivory and in less than twenty four hours after her
+arrival, the steamer was ready to depart.
+
+Having arranged to travel by this boat, my baggage was soon on board,
+and we left Ibembo at midday on the 6th of December. At first the river
+passes between the cliff fronting the plateau, on which the Mission
+stands and low lying forest on the opposite bank. The cliff is red, and
+is evidently full of iron. In a short time however, both banks become
+flat and are covered with forest broken at intervals by villages which
+are well arranged, clean and tidy. Some of them are wood posts, and one
+is occupied by old soldiers, who have built themselves very good houses.
+These veterans have no pension, but are given materials to form
+plantations, and also supply the steamers with wood at the usual rate.
+They rarely, if ever, return to their native villages, which they left
+seven or ten years before as naked savages, for they are now smart
+civilised men and imitate the appearance and manners of the Europeans as
+closely as possible.
+
+About 6 p.m. we reach the Post of Mandungu, situated on the right bank
+of the Itimbiri. It is very well built and scrupulously tidy. Behind is
+a high wooden stockade, and in front, along the river bank is a small
+wall broken by a kind of arbour, in which is a brass gun with the
+interesting inscription G.R. III 1799.
+
+On again at daybreak down the swiftly running stream. The Itimbiri
+indeed, like its principal feeders, the Likati and Rubi, is rapidly
+falling, for the dry season has now commenced in earnest, and although
+thunder-storms are frequent, they are not accompanied by rain. We stop
+at Moenge, a small post on the left bank of the river, for the mail, and
+then on again until the Congo is reached an hour before sunset. The
+great river is still very full of water, which shows no signs at
+present of falling. This is, only to be expected, for all the
+tributaries are now emptying themselves into the main stream, which is
+thus kept high for some weeks after they have commenced to fall. We turn
+down the Congo and after passing some villages and a post of the S.A.B.
+Trading Company, reach Bumba at sunset.
+
+This is an important shipping port, for the large vessels stop here
+owing to the difficulty of navigating the Congo higher up. All the cargo
+for Stanley Falls and the Upper Congo, as well as that for Uele, has
+therefore to be transhipped here. The place is designed in a series of
+squares, one side of each being formed by the river while the spaces
+thus left are filled with well kept gardens, the whole being very
+effective. Mr. Simon, the commandant of the Station kindly lends me a
+house and also arranges to allow the _Delivrance_ to take me up to
+Stanley Falls as soon as her cargo has been discharged. On each side of
+the Post are villages extending along the river bank. The men here wear
+a loin cloth, but the women only bangles, and the tatouage is varied and
+extensive.
+
+Next day the _Delivrance_ was charged with sheets of corrugated iron for
+building purposes and it was very interesting to watch the natives
+carrying these to the ship. Like some civilised people, the natives are
+so lazy that they often give themselves a great deal of work in the
+effort to avoid it. The plates were of various sizes and shapes and
+consequently of various weights. Sauntering slowly up to the stack on
+the beach, one of the porters would examine it carefully and search for
+as small a load as possible. Then he would either lift the upper ten or
+twelve plates or try to pull the one he had chosen out from the stack.
+Having accomplished his object thus with great exertion, he would put
+the plate on his head and carry it leisurely the few yards to the boat.
+Of course the larger ones had to be moved some time, and in reality at
+the end of the day the lazy fellows had thus done more work than was
+necessary. Compared with Hindu or Chinese coolies, the Central Africans
+indeed both in the plantations and at the dock side, accomplish rather
+less than half the amount of work in the same time. The paddlers, on the
+other hand, cannot be called lazy, and when propelling canoes against
+strong currents or up rapids, exert themselves to the utmost.
+
+We leave Bumba on December 9th in the _Delivrance_ and turn up stream.
+After passing the mouth of the Itimbiri the banks are unoccupied for
+many miles, dense unbroken forest lining each shore. Here and there is a
+wood post and we pass also two considerable areas which had evidently
+been cleared some time ago and occupied by villages. The people,
+however, were very troublesome in these parts and have since migrated
+into the interior leaving the ancient sites to elephants and other
+beasts. It is very much more comfortable on the _Delivrance_ than on the
+larger steamers, for, being the only passenger, I have plenty of room in
+the cabin below and as usual in these small craft, we have all our meals
+on the bridge.
+
+[Illustration: LOADING A BARGE.]
+
+On the 11th we arrive at Barumbu, a small Post with a large brick house
+for the Commissaire when he visits the place. Here most of the natives
+were dancing and looked very ridiculous. They did not move over the
+ground and seemed to be doing a kind of physical drill. First one leg
+was kicked forwards and backwards while the other did a heavy stiff
+looking hop. Then perhaps the arms were thrown up and down and the whole
+body advanced from the hips, and finally the head was jerked to and fro.
+These movements were repeated time after time, evidently in a regular
+set order, for once started, several people performed exactly the same
+in perfect time whether they could see each other or were back to back.
+The whole affair looked stiff and ungracious, but was keenly enjoyed by
+the natives.
+
+
+[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF BASOKO.]
+
+
+An hour later we arrived at Basoko, the capital of the Aruwimi District.
+It is different from other Posts, for it has a wall running along the
+river front with a square tower in the centre, giving the appearance of
+fortification. There are indeed a few guns here, but not many troops.
+After paying a short visit to the Commissaire General of Aruwimi,
+Captain Pimpurnieaux, we continue our journey.
+
+Next morning was pay day, all the ordinary seamen receiving 21 mitakos
+a week, but the capitas and wheelmen were given more. These latter are
+usually a very responsible set of men, for after a few journeys they
+remember every island and land-mark on the river and often steer all day
+without a word of command from the captain. About midday we met the
+_Ville de Paris_ which differs from the other steamers in having her
+wheels at the side instead of at the stern. This arrangement has not
+however, proved a success, for this boat is neither so fast nor so
+easily steered as the others.
+
+I am now troubled with a new complaint, synovitis of the knee joint with
+a good deal of effusion, which makes it very difficult to walk. It is
+curious why this malady should have appeared, for I had not knocked or
+otherwise injured the joint and had indeed been sitting quietly on
+steamers all day for the previous week.
+
+On the afternoon of the 12th we reach Isangi, a Post at the junction of
+the Lomami and the Congo. This river drains the territory occupied by
+the Company of the same name and we turn up it to visit Hambi, the chief
+town. There are a few large villages on the banks where the natives
+exhibit a curious method of hair dressing. It is allowed to grow long,
+which is very unusual in the Congo, and is then turned up and matted
+together on the top of the head with grease and the red powder of the
+cam-wood. The effect is, that each appears to be wearing a red and black
+cloth cap.
+
+We reach Hambi, which is a large Station well built and very tidy, the
+next day. The Company leases a very extensive territory along the river
+banks and does a large trade in rubber and ivory, the Brazilian variety
+of the former growing here very well. The natives are quite satisfied,
+work well and give very little trouble, although it is necessary to
+punish them sometimes, and as usual, the prisoners on the chain are
+given work to do outside the prison. We stay here one day and then
+descend the Lomani, and turn up the Congo. The banks of the river now
+have a new appearance, for they are higher and no longer densely wooded
+and at short intervals are villages thickly populated and containing a
+high percentage of children. Most of the men fish or build canoes, and
+all the people seem to be constantly trading with each other, selling
+food or curiosities for mitakos or cloth.
+
+We stop for the night at Yonanghe, a Post which has been built by a true
+native of the Congo, who at one time was the boy of Inspecteur d'Etat,
+Malfeyt. He has travelled to Europe, speaks French and English and makes
+an excellent Chef du Poste, which rank he enjoys officially, with all
+its rights and privileges. Everyone agrees he is thoroughly responsible
+and a very good friend, but if a captain of a steamer offends him, he
+will not sell him a chicken or even an egg for any sum.
+
+On the 15th we reach Yakussu, where is a Mission Station of the English
+Baptists. As I cannot go ashore, the missionary, Mr. Stapleton, comes on
+board and we have an interesting chat. He has known the Bangala District
+for many years and has seen the riverside population diminish very much
+during the last fifteen years. This he ascribes partly to the Sleeping
+Sickness and partly to emigration to the State Posts. At first it was
+very difficult for the people to raise enough food for themselves and
+for the soldiers in the Posts, and to avoid the hard work, many
+accepted service under the State. Here however, near Stanley Falls,
+there is plenty of food and the people have no difficulty in providing
+for their own wants and in supplying the State Posts as well. He thinks
+that after the cruelty of the Arabs, the rule of the white man appears
+as heaven to the native. All are therefore contented and happy, and as
+there is very little Sleeping Sickness, the population is increasing.
+The Mission boys are taught to be carpenters, masons and brick makers,
+for food is so plentiful that there is no need to establish plantations.
+The chief grievance of Mr. Stapleton is, that the Government will not
+permit the missionaries to settle where they wish and will not grant
+them land. Several other missionaries have also complained of this, but
+some districts are certainly not civilised at present, and it would be
+dangerous for any white man to live in them without a military guard. It
+thus happens that while there are a great number of Mission Stations
+along the Congo in the part where the population has diminished greatly,
+there is not a single Mission on the State side of the Ubangi river
+where the people are very numerous.
+
+We arrived at Stanleyville in the afternoon. The town is situated on the
+north bank of the river and consists of streets of large well built
+houses with much space in between which is laid out in gardens. On the
+opposite bank are the works of the railway to Ponthierville, a number of
+corrugated iron buildings and a large native village. In front, a
+hundred yards up the river, the lowest of the Stanley Falls can be
+seen, the white foam glistening in the sunlight as the water rushes
+over the rocks. The Commissaire of the District--the Province
+Orientale--Lieutenant De Neullemeister, kindly lends me a house and acts
+as my host. Fish is very plentiful here, but a sudden and terrible
+disease has suddenly carried off most of the goats and chickens and we
+are therefore, rather short of fresh meat for a few days.
+
+Many of the natives have the Arab type of features and their village is
+quite Arabian in appearance. They are all very civilised and work well,
+so that much rubber is collected, although the population about Lake
+Tanganika is not very dense. The women here are clothed and do not work
+in the plantations at all.
+
+Next day Lieutenant De Neullemeister and I, cross the river and are met
+by Mr. Adams, the Director of the Railway Company. We enter a truck and
+proceed along the new line which plunges into dense forest immediately,
+turning and twisting in many directions in order to avoid the numerous
+soft places and ravines and although there are a few steep gradients,
+most of the way the line runs on fairly level ground. The soil is a kind
+of ferruginous clay in some places and sandy in others and all the
+bridges are constructed of wood. Mr. Adams says the natives are good
+workers and that they have had no trouble with them and very little
+sickness. The gauge of the line is considerably wider than that of the
+Matadi-Leopoldville railway and at present about thirty kilometres have
+been finished the whole passing through thick forest with clearings here
+and there for the huts of the workmen. The difficulties of construction
+are very great, but these are being surmounted and the cost of transport
+of material is enormous, for every steel rail six of which weigh a ton
+has to be carried from Europe to Matadi by ship, then by the railway to
+Leopoldville, and then up the river for nearly a thousand miles. The
+Company has its own private steamer, the _Kintamo_, a stern wheeler of
+500 tons which is the largest vessel on the Congo, but like the rest was
+carried out in sections and put together and launched at Leopoldville.
+The construction of this railway will thus be costly, and it is doubtful
+if the amount of produce carried will be sufficient for some years to
+pay a dividend. The advantages of it will however, be very great, for at
+present the falls render the river useless for navigation, and
+everything has to be carried round by hand. Everywhere indeed, there is
+evidence that the State not only spends enormous sums in opening up the
+country, but welcomes the formation of private companies who will help
+them in their gigantic undertaking. It is difficult to realise that
+probably no man, white or black, has ever set foot in the forest a few
+hundred yards away, and yet we are travelling smoothly along a steel
+railroad through a tractless desert of trees propelled by a modern steam
+locomotive. The line does not pass near a single native village, for
+this part is not thickly populated and the only creatures whose paths
+are interrupted, are the elephants, buffaloes and wild pigs. On our
+return we visit the house of Mr. Adams, a solid structure of brick and
+European cement, and the Mess of the thirty or forty whites employed on
+the line who live here very well for mutton as well as goat can be
+purchased from the natives. The price of everything which has to be
+carried from Europe is very high at Stanleyville for the cost of
+transport is very great. In the afternoon, we make a tour of the town,
+and as it is impossible to walk, I am conveyed in a kind of bathchair
+resting on one wheel. One boy goes in front and one behind and when the
+road is very bad or an obstacle is met, they lift the machine bodily
+over it. It is however, a bumpy ride, for the roads are very rough and
+the chair has no springs. We pass the Mess, capable of dining sixty men
+and visit the prison. This is a brick building arranged as a quadrangle
+with an exercising yard in the centre. The cells are lofty and airy and
+only one prisoner occupies each, but many sleep in one dormitory.
+Everywhere great cleanliness is observed, so that one is not altogether
+surprised to learn that the mortality due to Sleeping Sickness is very
+small among the prisoners. Some of them are making mats and baskets in
+the yard, but most are working on the chain outside. In a separate
+building, the women, who also wear light chains, are cooking dinner for
+the prison. Indeed, on the whole the lot of a prisoner in the Congo is
+better than he would be likely to experience in a native village, with
+the exception that he is compelled to work. Most of the people are
+sentenced for theft or violence, but one woman was imprisoned for
+throwing a solution of pepper into the face of her husband and nearly
+blinding him. There is a separate room set apart for white prisoners,
+but it has not yet been used and is at present much more satisfactorily
+occupied by the instruments of the band of the Force Publique.
+
+Near the Mess we pass the house of Tippo-Tip, a small mud structure with
+a verandah and a roof of grass. It is not used at all now, but is
+allowed to remain as an historical monument. Stanley was compelled to
+negotiate with Tippo in order to avoid a conflict at the time when the
+State was not sufficiently armed to undertake such a task but since
+then, Arab rule has been entirely driven from Central Africa. Almost
+opposite the Falls, a fort is being constructed with a ditch all round.
+When finished, it will be capable of holding the whole garrison and
+supplies for eighteen months. It is of course, only constructed as a
+defence against native attacks and is not built strong enough to resist
+big gun fire.
+
+The quarters of the Force Publique here are very comfortable. Each man
+has a room to himself about seven feet square constructed of brick and
+the sergeants have a small house, each containing two rooms and a
+verandah. I looked into one or two and they were well arranged. Bed and
+mosquito curtain, table and chair with a few pictures and ornaments,
+showed what an advance the native had made in civilisation since he
+slept in a hut on the mud floor.
+
+Finally we visited the motive power which enables all this to be done,
+the rubber stores. Here people were busy sorting and packing the
+precious material into baskets ready to be carried to the Barge which
+was waiting to sail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Stanley Falls to London.
+
+
+The prison gang arrives at 8 a.m. on the morning of December 18th and at
+once my baggage is carried down to the river and placed on board the
+Barge. It is a novel sight. A long line of prisoners chained together,
+slowly marching down the road with bales, boxes, chairs, tables and
+portmanteaus on their heads. No method could be simpler or more secure
+for transporting baggage. The Barge--as the name implies--has no means
+of propulsion and depends for her locomotive power upon a powerful steam
+tug which is attached alongside. The whole space in the ship is thus
+devoted to cargo and only passengers who are sick are carried, the
+accommodation being limited, but there is a fine deck on which to sit or
+walk about. The Barge is of about 400 tons burden and is therefore as
+large as the mail passenger boats, and the great advantage of travelling
+in it is, that since there is absolutely no vibration or motion to be
+felt, it is very comfortable for writing.
+
+As the navigation of the river is difficult near Stanleyville, a pilot
+takes all the boats down the first day's journey and returns in the next
+vessel ascending. On the way we called at the Catholic Mission for one
+of the priests who wished to travel to La Romee and I was astonished to
+find he was quite ignorant of the agitation against the Congo, which was
+taking place in Europe, and wondered, as many of us do, what was the
+cause of it, for he knew nothing of atrocities or cruelties to natives.
+
+Afterwards we stopped at Yakussu for wood and then at La Romee where
+there is an extensive farm. Here we take on board some fresh vegetables
+and cow's milk which however, is not fit to drink an hour afterwards.
+The climate in the Congo is very bad for all kinds of food. Antelope,
+killed in the early morning, is often rotten by the evening, and thus
+the difficulty of obtaining fresh food is greatly increased. The
+rapidity with which flesh decomposes is, perhaps, the reason why the
+natives prefer it in that condition, for as it is so difficult to obtain
+meat fresh, they may have acquired the taste for it rotten, just as some
+civilised people train their palates to prefer game high. It is however,
+very disgusting to see them eating. One day a carcase of a wild pig in a
+highly decomposed condition was picked up by one of the paddlers on the
+Ubangi. This was cut up and shared among the canoes and part of it fell
+to my crew. Next day a most unpleasant smell accompanied us all the
+forenoon and no one could detect the cause, in fact, none of the natives
+noticed it. At lunch time however, the polemen produced a basket full of
+rotten flesh which they had stored in the front part of the canoe and
+thus given me the full benefit of it. As they commenced eating it raw,
+it was rather too much and I promptly ordered them to the other end of
+the boat where I could neither see nor smell them.
+
+[Illustration: THE FORCE PUBLIQUE AT STANLEYVILLE.]
+
+After travelling rapidly all day down stream, we tie up at sunset at
+Yonanghe and ship some rubber. We start again at daybreak, but as the
+wood in this part is both plentiful and good, the captain stops
+frequently at the posts and takes a large amount on board. This is a
+wise precaution, for lower down the wood is not so good and there is
+less of it, while there are more steamers to be supplied. At most of the
+villages the natives come to the beach with goods for sale, but the
+price of curios is too great here to tempt me.
+
+On the 20th we reach Basoko after running through a terrific tornado
+with so much rain that for a time it was impossible to see the banks. It
+is supposed to be the dry season here, so this storm is presumably an
+exception. Every morning there is a fog on the river more or less dense,
+which lasts for an hour or two after sunrise. During this period, it is
+often necessary to steam dead slow, for it is impossible to see a boat's
+length ahead.
+
+A pathetic incident happened one day. We were transporting eight
+prisoners to Boma and when we stopped these carried wood on to the
+steamer. One of them was the son of the Chief of a large village at
+which we stopped, who thus had the mortification of seeing his heir
+working "on the chain." He begged the captain to liberate him, who of
+course had not the power to do so even if he had wished, for the man had
+been sentenced for a serious theft and was now on his way to a convict
+settlement. The Chief therefore, told his son he was to give no trouble
+to the authorities and tried to comfort him by saying he would see the
+railway and Boma and the great ships which went to Europe. These
+prisoners gave no trouble at all. They were fed on the same food as the
+crew and did a certain amount of work, the only sign that they were
+criminals, being the chain which bound them together.
+
+On the 21st we reached Bumba and shipped a good deal of coffee. Here it
+was necessary to give the _chicotte_ to one of the crew for continually
+shirking work. He was given twenty five lashes, but it did not seem to
+affect him physically or morally, for immediately afterwards he smiled,
+rubbed himself and then slowly walked ashore to carry bags of coffee and
+while his fellows were hastening to finish their task, he was
+deliberately loitering about. Next time he will be dismissed and then he
+will find it difficult to find employment.
+
+On the following day we stopped at Dobo, one of the Posts of the Mongala
+Company, which has been taken over by the State. The Company found it
+was very difficult to make the people work and some serious charges of
+cruelty were proved against the officials. The Bangala tribe are
+however, very savage and only a short time ago a trader was killed and
+his body cut up ready for eating when some troops arrived and rescued
+it. The Government therefore, sent a punitive expedition into the
+country.
+
+There are very few villages on the river, and no signs that there have
+ever been any, for the forest grows to the water's edge in an
+uninterrupted line. At sunset we arrived at Lisala, which is a large
+military training camp, well constructed and managed. In it about a
+thousand savages are being converted into clean, smart-looking
+soldiers.
+
+Next day we passed the _Kintamo_., which was forcing its way up against
+the stream with a cargo of rails directed to Stanleyville. On the 24th
+we stopped at Mobeka, which is situated at the point where the Mongala
+river runs into the Congo and was the chief post of the Mongala Company.
+It is surrounded by a brick wall, except towards the river, and access
+to the Post from the native village is through stout wooden gates. At
+one place is a kind of watch tower built on the wall and the whole gives
+the appearance that the occupants knew they were living in the midst of
+cannibals, who would not hesitate to attack them if they were not well
+prepared to resist. It is to be hoped that the present expedition will
+be successful in converting a few from their barbarous condition, but
+great difficulties have to be overcome, for the fighting must be in the
+forest, as the natives never meet troops in the open if they can help
+it. In the evening we reached Nouvelle Anvers, a large and populous
+town. The houses are arranged along the river bank, surrounded by
+gardens, and the quarters of the troops leave nothing to be desired.
+
+Christinas Day has nothing resembling Christmas about it. A tropical sun
+burns overhead, warm sandy water glares below. In the morning we pass
+Mosembe, a Mission Station, and in the afternoon, Lulongo. There used to
+be a large village and coffee plantation here, but it was not a success
+and has been abandoned. The Mission however, still remains as also a
+Wood Post where we stop for the night and try to believe that duck is
+turkey and mutton, roastbeef. We have now traversed the whole of the
+river which runs past the Bangala District. It is undoubtedly very
+sparsely populated, but on the other hand, there are no remains of
+villages or clearings in the forest which would indicate it has ever
+been otherwise.
+
+Next day we reach Coquilhatville early and after taking some rubber and
+gum copal on board leave in the afternoon. From this point the river is
+familiar and at each place are old friends. At Irebu, Commandant Jeniaux
+comes on board and we have a chat about the condition of the agitation
+in Europe. Since we last met I have travelled some thousands of miles
+and have formed an opinion both of the system of Government and of those
+who administer it. There is no doubt whatever in my mind, that the
+native is not habitually ill-treated and that he is very well paid for
+his work. It is impossible to do more than guess at the object of the
+outcry, but it is certain that no agitation based on such a little
+foundation has ever been attended by such a near approach to success.
+
+Next day we stop at Lukoteia and take on board logs of wood and timber
+already worked into beams and posts for building. A little lower down is
+the old coffee plantation and close to it, tobacco is being grown. The
+river here is very wide and full of islands. To one of these we tie up
+and are at once attacked by millions of mosquitoes, who will not allow
+us to eat our dinner in peace. Fortunately I find an old pair of kid
+gloves and with my head covered with a silk handkerchief and my legs in
+high hunting boots, prepare for the onslaught. The mosquito here bites
+through duck trousers and socks with great ease, but his trunk cannot
+reach through the thickness of a sleeve of a coat and a flannel shirt,
+so with suitable clothes, one can gain a little peace, except for the
+constant humming round one's ears. A cigar or pipe is no protection at
+all, but the insects will not face the smoke of a wood fire. Since
+people cannot either, however, that is not much use. As it was, the few
+bites swelled up badly and completely upset the theory held by many,
+that after a few months in the Congo, the mosquito bite has no effect.
+It is some gratification--but not much--to think they only gained an
+extract of goat and chicken, instead of a solution of good juicy fresh
+meat.
+
+On the 29th we passed Yumbi and Bolobo. At the latter place great
+numbers of natives came to the beach to trade with our crew and black
+passengers who bought dried fish and kwanga. In the evening we reach
+Sandy Beach, opposite which, is _Lonely_. island so called because it is
+the last island on the river before it narrows to pass through what is
+known as the canal. Here the banks are flanked with hills which are a
+welcome sight after the dead level of the forest higher up.
+
+Next day we arrive at Kwamouth and after taking some cargo from the
+Kasai on board move on to a large Wood Post. It is not a very
+interesting or lively occupation watching people cut wood in the forest
+and stack it on the beach, and these Posts are sometimes used as places
+of punishment for refractory Europeans, whom it is thought desirable to
+isolate for a time. The strict paternal system is carried out throughout
+the State and methods of punishment are adopted which are rarely if ever
+found elsewhere. For minor offences the Europeans are fined by stopping
+their pay for a certain number of days and sometimes a man is revocated,
+which means he is sent home without being paid for the six months or
+year previously. In this way men who drink hard when they have the
+opportunity, who are habitually insubordinate, or who are undesirable,
+are weeded out rapidly. Penal offences are of course tried in the Courts
+and punished with imprisonment. It is indeed curious after travelling in
+America and our colonies, to find, sturdy, rough, independent characters
+behaving with extraordinary meekness and docility. Drunken brawls and
+promiscuous revolver shooting are unknown in the Congo, for the simple
+reason, that it is impossible up country to procure drink. There are no
+drink shanties or gambling dens and indeed no amusements of any kind.
+Men work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., have their dinner and go to bed. Very
+little news penetrates from the outside world and conversation is
+therefore, limited to the immediate affairs of the individuals
+concerned. Small matters thus appear to be far more important than they
+really are and the story of any little adventure soon becomes magnified
+out of all recognition. This, perhaps, accounts also for some of the
+absurd stories of atrocities.
+
+On the last day of the year we reach Leopoldville and are comfortably
+installed in the Inspector's house. A kind of fete is held in the
+evening and a procession passes with lanterns on poles, but there is
+very little singing or noise of any kind and the whole affair is rather
+ghostly.
+
+On January 2nd we leave Leopoldville by train and remembering the amount
+of the fare coming up, I was careful to reduce my baggage to the
+minimum. Of course the food cases were all empty, the wine drunk, the
+salt paid away to natives and the petroleum burnt; still for myself,
+three boys and excess baggage, the fare for the two hundred miles was
+over £25. Just before we left Leopoldville, who should enter the
+carriage but Mr. Joseph Clarke, of Ikoko, and another Mr. Clark, who is
+also a Missionary. I was very pleased to see them and hear the news from
+their side of the question. They were travelling to Maladi to attend a
+meeting of missionaries, but to-day only proceeded as far as Kinshassa.
+Mr. Clarke told me he had sent to the Commission of Enquiry some new
+photographs of the boy without a hand whom he had shown to me at Ikoko
+and was convinced that the world would be startled when the report
+appeared. All the meetings of the Commission are held in public and
+therefore the evidence submitted at them is already known. The
+interpretation of this apparently depends upon the already formed
+opinion of the individual, for while the State officials say that very
+little, if anything, has been proved against the Government, the
+Missionaries are quite satisfied that the A.B.I.R. Company will be
+severely condemned. Of course no report can possibly satisfy any of the
+controversialists for their feelings are too strong to permit them to be
+content with cold facts judicially stated.
+
+After an uneventful and uncomfortable journey through the beautiful part
+described before, we arrive at Sono Congo about 5 p.m. and take a room
+in the Magazins-Generaux, a wooden building raised above the level of
+the ground and fairly clean. It is beautifully fresh and cool up here,
+and for the first time for half a year, it is possible to take a bath in
+clear white water.
+
+On again at 6.30 a.m. at which hour it was quite cold, but as the sun
+rose and we descended, it became very hot indeed, for we were then well
+south of the Equator and it was summer in the Lower Congo. The scenery
+through the Palabala mountains improved, if possible, on a second
+acquaintance and the railway as a feat of engineering, appeared still
+more marvellous. After a dusty, hot journey, we arrived at Matadi at 5
+p.m. and found Mr. de Rache, the Commissaire of the District, on the
+platform. He had kindly taken a room at one of the hotels, but as it
+necessitated climbing up the hill and I could only walk with difficulty,
+I decided to sleep on board the _Anversville_ which was discharging
+cargo at the pier head. Here indeed were all the luxuries of Europe. A
+barber, a big bath, white spotless table-cloths, clean shining plate,
+red juicy beef and last, but by no means least, cold drinks. It is worth
+roughing it to experience the keen delight at returning to comforts
+which are never appreciated at their full worth when enjoyed every day.
+
+Next morning we leave Matadi for Boma in the _Heron_. The current is
+running down through the narrow channel at about ten knots an hour and
+the water roars and bubbles as though passing over rocks in a rapid. We
+therefore roll a good deal and travel very fast indeed until we reach
+Boma just before midday.
+
+Stories in the Congo grow with extraordinary rapidity and my attack of
+synovitis had been converted into a serious illness before it reached
+the capital. A room had therefore, been prepared at the _Croix Rouge_ in
+which I was soon comfortably installed. The hospital consists of eight
+sets of rooms arranged in four buildings, separated from each other, but
+with the verandahs connected by balconies. In the centre is a building
+in which the eight sisters live the whole thus forming a "t" with a
+building at each end of the lines and one where they intersect. The
+whole is situated on a hill from which a magnificent view can be
+obtained of the river and country around. Here I remained for nearly a
+week and was attended with much skill and care by the medical men and
+sisters. It was necessary to make some calls in the town and a carriage
+at Boma was placed at my disposal similar to the one at Stanleyville,
+but travelling in it was more comfortable for the roads are better in
+the capital. It was very hot and the mosquitoes were terribly hostile,
+but otherwise my visit was very pleasant and agreeable.
+
+On January 6th the German cruiser the _Vineta_ and the gunboat the
+_Habicht_ entered the Congo and the Governor General gave a dinner to
+the officers to which I received the honour of an invitation. I am
+tempted to give the menu to show that although living in the Upper Congo
+is not good, as a rule, in Boma it is possible to give a banquet worthy
+of anyone.
+
+              MENU
+               --
+      _Potage aux tomates_
+               --
+    _Coquilles de crevettes_
+               --
+     _Barbue. Sauce câpres_
+        _Pommes nature_
+               --
+        _Filet de boeuf_
+ _Flageolets. Pommes rissolées_
+               --
+      _Asperges de Malines_
+        _Sauce au beurre_
+               --
+ _Pigeonneaux rôtis. Petits pois_
+               --
+_Poulets farcis. Compote de mangues_
+               --
+   _Canetons rôtis. Salade russe_
+               --
+            _Gâteaux_
+       _Ananas au kirsch_
+      _Fruits.--Desserts_
+
+The wines were Oporlo, Hodiheimer, Niersteiner, Pichon Longueville 1893,
+Château Grand Larose 1893, Corton and Louis Roederer Champagne. The
+dinner was served admirably by native boys while the band of the Force
+Publique performed in the garden.
+
+The strong, grasping instinct of the native was well shown after I had
+paid off the "boys," written them good characters and made them handsome
+presents. At the last moment they all came and demanded a further tip
+which I rather indignantly refused to give. However, they showed by
+their manner then that they were well satisfied and knew very well that
+it would be very difficult to obtain such high wages again. I had many
+long talks with Mr. Vandamme, who was as usual, very hard at work, and
+Mr. Underwood who kindly helped me to settle many matters. Indeed,
+everyone with whom I came into contact, whether State Officials,
+Missionaries or Traders, were always extremely kind and courteous and
+converted what might have been a very unpleasant and dangerous journey
+into a most interesting tour and I sincerely hope that all will remain,
+as I hope they are now, good friends, whether they agree with me or not
+about the merits of the system of Government in the Congo.
+
+After bidding farewell to the residents at Boma, I left in the _Wall_ on
+January 10th and after a rapid journey to Banana, joined the
+_Anversville_ which immediately put to sea and by sunset the mouth of
+the Congo was out of sight.
+
+The voyage home was uneventful, except for a few days of strong head
+winds. Among the passengers were Mr. Gohr, the Director of Justice, who
+well deserved a holiday after his extremely responsible and arduous
+duties, Captain Stevens, the Commissaire of the Equator District, as
+cheerful and jolly as ever, Mr. Longlain, the Director of the A.B.I.R.
+Company who has come in for a quite unmerited share of abuse, and many
+other State Officials, many of whom were in an indifferent state of
+health. Two or three Catholic and some Baptist Missionaries were also
+travelling home and it was interesting and satisfactory to find that
+everyone, whether State Official, Missionary or Trader, was convinced
+that the Commission of Enquiry would issue a report which would
+correspond with his own opinion.
+
+There was plenty of time to arrange the impressions of the tour in order
+and to formulate some general ideas on the system of Government in the
+Congo and the manner in which it is administered. The whole system has
+been created and is controlled absolutely by one mind. It is a very
+simple and extremely practical machine, but it is very vast. The
+officials who work it therefore, have each their own special task
+allotted to them and very few appear to understand the principles on
+which the whole moves. The problem which has been faced and successfully
+overcome, is how an unknown land populated by savages can be developed
+and civilised by its own resources without heavily taxing the native and
+without poisoning him with alcohol.
+
+It is done in this manner. Each native is compelled to do a certain
+amount of work for the State. This results in the collection of great
+quantities of rubber and ivory for which the native is paid. The rubber
+and ivory are then sold at a profit in Europe and the sum so realised is
+used to pay the heavy expenses of transport, to keep up the Government
+and to open out new lines of communication throughout the country. The
+native is thus made to work instead of paying a tax in money and it is
+possible to raise enough revenue without selling him alcohol.
+
+As has been shown in these pages, the native is very grasping and very
+idle and has little idea at present of the value either of produce or
+work. He thus charges an extortionate amount for his goats and chickens,
+and demands heavy fees for services rendered. The State however, fixes
+the price of labour and food at its fair value and demands a certain
+amount of one or other from each village. This sometimes leads to
+discontent and rebellion just as do the taxes levied by other
+Governments, and it is necessary to occupy territory with troops. No
+soldier however, is allowed to have in his possession a rifle unless he
+is accompanied by a white officer, and if he tries to ill-treat the
+natives, is severely punished.
+
+The officials themselves, are subjected to the most severe discipline,
+and as they exist, so to speak, on the rungs of a ladder, each one can
+be punished by the one next above him, who is, in turn, responsible,
+until at length the summit is reached. Every Post is worked on identical
+principles and the responsibility for its success or failure, rests with
+the official in charge. He is not permitted to try experiments or to
+alter the system in the least degree, and can only use his moral power
+to influence the natives. The question has been asked whether this
+system is not contrary to the letter or spirit of the Treaty of 1885.
+Clause V. of that treaty runs as follows. "No Power which exercises or
+may exercise sovereign rights in the above mentioned regions shall be
+allowed to grant therein either monopoly or privilege of any kind in
+commercial matters; foreigners without distinction shall enjoy
+protection of their persons and goods as well as the right of acquiring
+and transferring moveable and immoveable property and the same treatment
+and rights as subjects of the nation in the exercise of their
+professions."
+
+In the first place it must be remembered that the Berlin Act applies to
+all the Powers possessing territory in the Congo basin and not to the
+Free State particularly, and secondly, that it was agreed upon by the
+Powers to prohibit monopolies and privileges in commercial matters and
+to suppress slavery, but not to interfere with the Government of the
+States or Colonies which were then or might be established and which
+might or might not sign the treaty. All the Powers indeed which signed
+the Act of Berlin of 1885 did so voluntarily and among them the Congo
+Free State which had already been recognised by the whole of Europe as
+an independent State. The signatory Powers to that Act did not create,
+define the boundaries, or in any way particularly specify the Congo Free
+State which is bound by it, therefore, to the same extent only as is
+England, France, Germany, or other signatory Powers. All these Powers at
+various times have declared that vacant land is Crown property. A German
+Imperial Order of November 26th 1895 says that the proprietorship of all
+vacant land in German East Africa belongs to the Empire. An Order issued
+by the Commissioner of the French Congo of September 26th 1891 runs
+"Uncultivated soil and vacant land which nobody legally claims shall be
+considered as belonging to the State and shall form part of the colonial
+domain[4]." In the British Empire, the right of the Government to
+declare vacant lands in the colonies Crown property has been frequently
+exercised[5]. In annexing all the vacant lands, the Congo Free State
+therefore, has only followed the usual custom practised by all
+countries, so that it is obvious these lands are absolutely the property
+of the State, which, therefore, has a perfect right either to sell or
+lease them to Companies, Missionaries or Traders, or to collect the
+produce from them itself.
+
+Indeed it was never intended that the whole Congo Basin should be pegged
+out into claims by a host of adventurers without any system, law or
+order, for such a proceeding would have speedily led to complete
+anarchy. Since then the vacant lands belong to the State, it is obvious
+that traders can only acquire landed property either from the State,
+from other traders or persons possessing land. Again it is obvious that
+a trader only has the right of purchasing the produce of the land from
+the owner and although he may buy for example, rubber, which a native
+Chief has grown on his own plantation, no Chief may go into the forest
+which is State territory, collect the rubber from it and sell it, for
+such would be simple robbery.
+
+Now the State imposes regulations upon the concessionary Companies and
+traders, which it also observes carefully itself on its own land in
+order that the rubber plants shall not be killed and furthermore it
+stipulates that all who take rubber juice, shall plant young rubber
+trees and vines to replace those which die in process of time. The
+supply of rubber is thus assured in the future. In spite however of the
+most stringent rules the officials of the private companies undoubtedly
+ill-treat the natives sometimes.
+
+What then would have been the result if the country had been parcelled
+out among a number of private traders, who had simply pegged out claims?
+Their object would have been to make a large fortune and return home as
+soon as possible. After a few years, therefore, all the existing rubber
+trees and vines would have been bled to death, no new ones would have
+been planted, and the native would certainly have been over-worked and
+ill-treated. The country would then have been deserted and left to
+return to savagery. The State itself on the other hand is working for
+the future. Everything which can grow is planted, the natives are daily
+becoming more civilised, Posts are being built, roads and waterways
+opened up and the whole place rendered beautiful and attractive.
+
+In the meantime, properly in the country is guarded, trade is perfectly
+free, and everyone, native and foreigner, is free to pursue his business
+in his own manner, subject only to such laws as are imposed in all
+civilised countries for the good of the community at large.
+
+The Congo Free State has indeed, without breaking any Treaty, solved the
+problem which has baffled the combined wisdom of all the ancient great
+colonial Powers. It exists on its own resources without poisoning the
+natives with alcohol; it extracts much wealth from the soil without fear
+of ever exhausting it; it opens up great tracts of land without running
+heavily into debt, and--noblest of all--it daily converts naked cannibal
+savages into self-respecting responsible people.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] See _New Africa_ by Senator E. Descamps, p. 73 _et seq_.
+
+[5] In Canada, Australia and the North West.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO
+FREE STATE***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 15240-8.txt or 15240-8.zip *******
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+<html>
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
+<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State, by Marcus Dorman</title>
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+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State,
+by Marcus Dorman</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State</p>
+<p>Author: Marcus Dorman</p>
+<p>Release Date: March 4, 2005  [eBook #15240]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO FREE STATE***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>E-text prepared by Brendan Lane, Martin Pettit,<br />
+    and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h2>A JOURNAL</h2>
+
+<h3>OF A</h3>
+
+<h1>TOUR IN THE CONGO</h1>
+
+<h2>FREE STATE</h2>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>MARCUS R.P. DORMAN, M.A.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>AUTHOR OF <i>A History of the British Empire in the Nineteenth
+Century.</i><br /> <i>The Mind of the Nation</i>, A STUDY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT IN
+THE NINETEENTH CENTURY;<br /> <i>Ignorance</i>, A STUDY OF THE CAUSES AND
+EFFECTS OF POPULAR THOUGHT<br /> AND <i>From Matter to Mind.</i></p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<div>Originally published in 1905<br />
+by J. Leb&egrave;gue and Co., Brussels<br />
+and Kegan Paul, Trench, Tr&uuml;bner &amp; Co., Ltd., London</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class='center'><i>Dedicated by Permission to His Majesty Leopold II,
+King of Belgium and Sovereign of the Congo Free State.</i></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;London to Banana.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Banana to Leopoldville.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Higher Congo.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Equator District.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Ubangi River.&mdash;Irebu to Banzyville.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Upper Ubangi.&mdash;Banzyville to Yakoma.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yakoma to Djabir.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Across Uele.&mdash;Djabir to Ibembo.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ibembo to Stanley Falls.</li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stanley Falls to London.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<ul><li><a href="#MAP">MAP--ITINERARY OF MARCUS R.P. DORMAN IN THE CONGO FREE STATE</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img008">THE STEAMER &laquo;FLORIDA.&raquo;</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img025">THE NATIVE HOSPITAL AT BOMA.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img039">THE CATARACTS RAILWAY NEAR MATADI.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img041">THE RAILWAY STATION AT MATADI.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img047">THE STEAMER &laquo;FLANDRE.&raquo;</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img051">CATARACTS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img057">STEAMERS AND DOCKS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img065">THE AMERICAN MISSION HOUSE AT LEOPOLDVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img077">NATIVES OF THE UPPER CONGO.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img081">BOTANICAL GARDENS AT EALA.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img095">NATIVE CHIEFS AT COQUILHATVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img103">THE FARM AT EALA.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img111">THE UBANGI RIVER..</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img115">YOUNG COFFEE TREES AT COQUILHATVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img132">SANGO NATIVES OF THE UBANGI.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img133">THE UPPER UBANGI.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img139">YOUNG SANGO GIRLS AT BANZYVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img151">THE STATE POST AT DJABIR.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img159">THE RIVER NEAR BANZYVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img171">THE SULTAN OF DJABIR.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img179">WARRIORS AT DJABIR.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img191">THE ITIMBIRI RIVER.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img195">BASOKO FROM THE RIVER.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img199">LOADING A BARGE.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img201">GENERAL VIEW OF BASOKO.</a>
+        </li>
+	<li><a href="#img211">THE FORCE PUBLIQUE AT STANLEYVILLE.</a>
+        </li>
+</ul>
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE" ></a>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This journal is practically my Diary reproduced with the minimum of
+editing in order that the impressions gained on the spot should be
+described without modification. It was never intended for publication,
+and was written only as an aid to memory. Consequently it is little more
+than a collection of rough notes.</p>
+
+<p>Having left England with a prejudice against the Government of the Congo
+Free State and returned with a very strong feeling in its favour, I feel
+however that it is my duty to publish an account of what I did see for
+the benefit of those whose opinions are not already formed beyond
+recall.</p>
+
+<p>As in all controversies where feelings subordinate reason and people
+judge more by their emotions than by evidence, many are too quick to-day
+to attribute interested motives to those whose opinions are not similar
+to their own. Since a great number of people in the Congo and at home
+are curious to know whether I was sent out by the Congo Government, the
+British Government or the <i>Times</i>, I will state here once for all that I
+went to the Congo entirely to please myself and with the hope of
+shooting big game. In order indeed to satisfy curiosity, I will go
+further and state that not only was I not paid for telling the truth,
+but that the trip cost me a great deal of money.</p>
+
+<p>It is however delightful to remember that wherever I went I was treated
+with the greatest kindness and courtesy by all whether they approved of
+the system of the Congo Government or not and it gives me great pleasure
+to thank here the State officials, Missionaries of all denominations and
+Traders of various nationalities for their hospitality, friendship and
+valuable assistance.</p>
+
+<p class='right'>M.R.P.D.</p>
+
+<p>London 1905.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="MAP" id="MAP" ></a><a href="images/lg_map.jpg"><img src="images/sm_map.jpg" width='501' height='402' alt="MAP--ITINERARY OF MARCUS R.P. DORMAN IN THE CONGO FREE STATE" /></a></p>
+<p class="center"><a href="images/lg_map.jpg">MAP--ITINERARY OF MARCUS R.P. DORMAN IN THE CONGO FREE STATE</a></p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<a name="img008" id="img008" ></a><img src="images/img008.jpg" width='613' height='352' alt="THE STEAMER &laquo;FLORIDA.&raquo;" />
+<br /><b>THE STEAMER &laquo;FLORIDA.&raquo;</b><br /><br /></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I" ></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>London to Banana.</h3>
+
+
+<p>There was no time to spare. The ship sailed from Southampton in forty
+eight hours and I had only just arranged to accompany Lord Mountmorres
+on a tour in the Congo Free Stale. He was going out for the purpose of
+discovering the true condition of affairs in that country and of writing
+articles thereupon for the <i>Globe</i> but incidentally hoped to have some
+big game shooting. After one has read much about a country it is always
+interesting to visit it and as the prospect of good sport was added in
+this case, I at once decided to brave the cannibals, wild beasts,
+and&mdash;most dangerous of all&mdash;the climate, and to seize the opportunity to
+visit the Congo.</p>
+
+<p>It was necessary to purchase a complete camp outfit, suitable clothes
+and much food-stuff and to arrange certain affairs at home. The first
+part was however rendered easy for it was only necessary to duplicate
+the order already given by Lord Mountmorres, and with a rapidity which
+could not be equalled anywhere else, the Army and Navy Stores and
+Messrs. Silvers packed and despatched tent, furniture and cases in a few
+hours.</p>
+
+<p>As there are many and varied discomforts which cannot be avoided when
+travelling in the Congo, or any other tropical and half-civilised
+country, it is just as well not to add to their number by omitting to
+benefit by the experience of others. A few hints may therefore be
+inserted here without apology for the benefit of other travellers. The
+first articles to be considered are a tent, bed, and mosquito-net. Now
+when the usual oblong tent with a penthouse roof is pitched and the bed
+made, surmounted by the mosquito-net, the only place in which there is
+room for it, is in the middle of the tent between the two poles. The
+result is that as the roof slopes, it is absolutely impossible to stand
+upright on either side and much space is therefore wasted. It would be
+better to arrange for the bed to stand close to one side of the tent and
+for the net to be attached to the sloping roof leaving the middle and
+the other side free for table and chair. Circles of hooks for clothes
+should be attached to the poles and large pockets in the walls of the
+tent itself are useful. It is needless to specify particulars about
+furniture, and I will only say that the folding or concertina pattern
+bed, bath, washhandstand and table proved very comfortable and
+withstood the great strain of being packed and unpacked nearly every day
+for six months without breaking down. A strong, long lounge chair is
+absolutely necessary. In climates where there is much glare, everything
+should be made of green canvas. The well-known Lord's patent petrol lamp
+is certainly the best and although it necessitates carrying a good
+supply of oil, is cleaner and more convenient than candles. There is not
+space here to give a list of all the necessities for travelling and
+camping in the forests of Africa and it is enough to say that one has to
+carry a complete house, furniture, kitchen utensils and much food. Wheat
+and milk cows do not exist in the forest and very little grows which is
+edible. It is therefore necessary to carry sufficient flour, butter,
+lard, condiments, tinned meats, vegetables and fruits in order to cook,
+and to make a variety from the antelopes, fish, game, goats and chickens
+which are procurable on the spot. Water bottles and filters are very
+necessary, but for Africa the best change at home&mdash;those which have
+porcelain cores&mdash;are of no use for the water is very muddy, and the
+minute pores at once become blocked. The charcoal filters, although
+bulky to carry, are therefore the best for the forest. The question of
+alcohol must be left to the individual himself, but it must be
+remembered that there are only a very few places where it can be
+purchased in the Congo and that the State officials are only permitted
+to have a limited amount for themselves. Undoubtedly the best wine for
+the climate is good claret or burgundy, and the healthiest spirit,
+whisky. It is however, well to have some medical comforts in the shape
+of champagne and brandy to take after attacks of fever. Excellent
+native coffee can be purchased; tea and sugar must be carried. Drugs,
+especially iron, quinine, arsenic and phenacetin are essential as also
+splints, bandages and dressings in case of accidents.</p>
+
+<p>Now it must be remembered that the climate is hot and humid. Metals rust
+at once, leather and cloth become mouldy, food stuffs will keep one or
+two days only after the tins are opened, and cigars, tobacco and
+cigarettes become damp and ferment. In packing therefore, all the food,
+cigars, cigarettes and tobacco should be soldered airtight and in tins
+so arranged that when once opened, it is possible <i>to shut</i> them again.
+A tin of sardines or condensed milk once opened cannot be carried in a
+case liable to be upside down at any moment. There are however, some
+bottles with screw tops and india-rubber rings in which Messrs. Crosse
+and Blackwell send out jam. These are airtight and so very useful for
+when they are empty they can be cleaned and used for milk, sardines, or
+anything else again and again. Messrs. Huntley and Palmer pack biscuits
+in their usual tins but with an inner lid soldered, and these are also
+very convenient. Above all things, remember curry powder, pickles,
+chutney and Worcester sauce, for even goat's flesh can be rendered
+pleasant if it tastes of something else. All this may sound trivial, but
+it is really very important, for the appetite is easily lost in the
+Congo and if the strength is not maintained by plenty of food, sickness
+is certain to follow. Leather cases for rifles and guns are not good as
+they deteriorate. The best case I have ever seen was made for me by a
+ship's boatswain. It was of strong sail canvas made to fit the rifle
+and covered outside with ordinary ship's paint; the inside speedily
+became lined with oil and the whole formed an excellent guard against
+the damp. It is however, necessary to have firearms cleaned and oiled
+nearly every day whether used or not.</p>
+
+<p>Clothes of cloth are not necessary. Drill, khaki and flannel are
+sufficient with light helmets and plenty of strong boots. It must be
+remembered that everything has to be carried by porters. Clothes,
+blankets, etc. should be packed in tin boxes with rubber edges so that
+when shut they are airtight; tents pack in bales and every article of
+furniture should fold up. The whole equipment must be arranged so that
+each load is about 50 or 60 lbs and is conveniently shaped for carrying
+on the head or shoulder. We were careful to choose the lightest
+articles, whenever consistent with strength, and thus our baggage when
+completed weighed only a little more than two tons.</p>
+
+<p>All was ready when we left Waterloo at 10.25 a.m. on Friday June 24th
+1904 accompanied by Sir Alfred Jones and Sir Ralph Moor who saw us off
+at Southampton. The latter has had much experience of Africa and told
+some blood-curdling stories of the manners of the natives. Adulterers
+used to be punished in a most barbarous way. A youth who had erred with
+one of the numerous wives of a Chief, was nailed by the ears to a tree
+in the forest and left to starve. Women also were treated with equal
+severity and all manner of mutilations were practised. Such atrocities
+have of course been suppressed by the Congo Free State.</p>
+
+<p>Having reached Southampton, we went on board the S.S. <i>Leopoldville</i>, a
+ship of about 5,000 tons burden, very clean and well-found. She belongs
+to the <i>Compagnie maritime belge</i> which runs a ship every third week
+from Antwerp and Southampton to Boma and Matadi. We sailed about 2 p.m.
+and a savoury smell from the galley reminded us that it was about seven
+hours since we had breakfasted.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the passengers were English military officers and miners bound
+for the Gold Coast, but most were evidently officials of the Congo Free
+State. The conversation soon turned upon the agitation in Europe against
+the Congo Government, and it was extraordinary with what sorrowful
+indignation the various charges were refuted. This impressed me greatly
+at the time for it was in marked contrast with the indifference shown by
+an average Englishmen when his country and methods are abused by
+foreigners. Probably the explanation is, that we are so used to
+unmerited abuse, that we regard it as part of the normal order of
+things. The Congo State on the other hand, has only recently become
+sufficiently prosperous to attract attention.</p>
+
+<p>One of the passengers dressed as a Catholic Priest, proved a veritable
+mine of information. This was Mgr. Derikx, Prefet Apostolique of Uele in
+the Upper Congo. He had had five years' experience of the country and
+was well versed in all its institutions and ways. Another was a young
+military officer, M. Arnold, already of the rank of Commandant, for he
+had shown distinguished service in the field&mdash;or rather the forest&mdash;and
+also as an administrator at a State Post. There were also many other
+officials, soldiers, lawyers and commercial agents on board.</p>
+
+<p>I determined therefore, to read the various books and reports written
+against the Congo&mdash;whether the writers had ever been in the country or
+not&mdash;then to question the officials who had worked there, and finally to
+see the actual condition of affairs for myself.</p>
+
+<p>We tumbled about in The Bay of Biscay a little and the motion did not
+much aid the digestion of the contents of histories and blue and white
+books. A welcome break was therefore made when we reached Teneriffe on
+June 29th. It is early afternoon and the view of Santa Crus from the sea
+is very beautiful. In the foreground is ultra-marine coloured water; on
+shore, bright yellow houses with red roofs dotted among palms and other
+foliage of vivid green, and behind all, frowns the great grey mountain
+12,000 feet high. The hills stretching up from the sea are in many cases
+terraced for gardens and vineyards and a new hotel stands out
+prominently on one side. It is a glorious picture, but if the eye is
+delighted as the boat approaches the shore, the nose is offended
+immediately on landing. Streets, houses and people near the harbour are
+dirty and odoriferous and as the shops are all shut for a saint's day,
+the town looks dismal in spite of the bright sun.</p>
+
+<p>After changing some money at the shop of a jew who gave us the wrong
+amount and looked injured when we insisted upon the right, we took an
+open carriage and drove to the Cathedral. The building is not imposing
+from the outside, but is highly gilded within where is the famous Holy
+Cross which gives the town its name. There are also many wax figures
+representing saints, mostly dressed in the costume of the seventeenth
+century and enclosed in glass cases. The boy who acted as our guide
+having discovered our nationality, pointed out with great glee &laquo;English
+organ,&raquo; &laquo;English clock&raquo; and finally with satirical humour&mdash;probably
+unconscious&mdash;&laquo;English flags.&raquo; These flags are those lost by Nelson at
+the seige of Santa Crus where he lost his arm and a good story is told
+about them. An ambitious British middy stole them from the Cathedral and
+was very disappointed, when instead of being at once promoted, he was
+forced to apologize and restore them.</p>
+
+<p>We next drive up a broad, fairly well kept, boulevard to the Bull Ring
+situated in an open space behind the town. A woman conducts us into the
+ring and shows us the stables in which the infuriated beasts are kept
+before they are asked to shed their blood for the idle amusement of the
+spectators. On the walls are many names which look like British, and the
+guide is quite astonished when we refuse to add ours to their number.</p>
+
+<p>Commandant Arnold here takes on board six camels, for it is hoped these
+ships of the desert will also sail equally well in the forest. The
+experiment is at any rate not expensive, for they only cost &pound;16 each and
+will carry several hundred pounds weight of baggage.</p>
+
+<p>From time to time the Congo Government has been charged with forcing the
+natives to work against their will and with ill-treating them, and it
+has also been alleged that the native soldiers committed many atrocities
+during the wars against the revolting tribes. Many of these charges have
+been collected and published in <i>Civilisation in Congoland</i> written by
+Mr. H.R. Fox-Bourne, the Secretary of the Aborigines Protection Society.
+The author has not travelled in the country himself, but relies chiefly
+upon the evidence of the late Mr. Edward Glave, at one time an official
+of the Congo International Association, and of the late Mr. Sj&ouml;blom who
+was a Swedish Missionary in the Congo. The book is not cheerful reading,
+for indeed it is chiefly a record of crimes which have been committed in
+the past.</p>
+
+<p>It has been frequently stated that acting under the orders, or at least
+with the connivance of the agents of the Congo State and those of the
+Commercial Companies in the country, the native police or sentries have
+punished in a most barbarous manner all those natives who refused to
+work. It is alleged indeed, that these sentries have actually cut off
+the hands of those who did not collect the rubber or food-stuff demanded
+by the agents. To even read of such sickening horrors is terrible, and I
+was therefore much relieved to find that none of the State officials on
+board had ever seen natives maimed in that or any other manner by the
+soldiers of the State. There seems however, to be no doubt that the
+native chiefs in the past mutilated both the living and dead as
+punishment for crime. Mgr. Derikx told me that he had heard of a case
+where a chief had ordered that the hand of his own son should be cut off
+because he had committed adultery with one of his numerous wives.</p>
+
+<p>We arrived at Dakar, the capital of the French colony of Senegambia, at
+daylight on July 3rd. Navigation is not easy here, for a reef runs
+parallel to the coast and the channel between, is neither broad nor
+deep. The town is built on the shores of a bay and faces an island
+strongly fortified. The whole colony is being rapidly developed; a
+railway runs to St. Louis and roads are being constructed across the
+desert towards Timbuctoo and the northern coasts. A flourishing
+industry in palm oil is carried on and Dakar is also an important
+military centre. Several of the officers however, were engaged in the
+peaceful pursuit of fishing at the end of the breakwater when we
+arrived.</p>
+
+<p>At Dakar, Commandant and Madame Sillye come on board. The former has
+served for ten years in the Congo and is now taking out ten horses
+purchased in Senegambia, from which he hopes to breed. They are a fine
+looking set, very quiet and well behaved, and take up their quarters
+opposite the camels without creating any disturbance. We have now quite
+a menagerie on board. Besides the camels and horses, there are pigeons
+to be trained as carriers, guinea pigs with which the doctors
+investigating the terrible disease the Sleeping Sickness, will
+experiment and several dogs belonging to the passengers. Various kinds
+of rubber and other living plants also occupy an appreciable part of the
+promenade deck. Passengers and cargo indeed, are strong evidence of the
+earnest way in which the Congo is being developed.</p>
+
+<p>It is necessary now to turn from the actual visual facts and to study
+the statements of others. While doing so however, we must bear in mind
+the main outlines of the history of the Congo Free State. The opening up
+of the Congo was entirely due to the initiative of King Leopold of
+Belgium aided by the explorations of the late Sir H.M. Stanley. In 1878,
+after Stanley's first descent of the Congo, a society of philanthropists
+was formed called the <i>Comit&eacute; d'&eacute;tudes du Haut-Congo</i> but this was
+changed in 1882 to the <i>Association Internationale du Congo</i>. Stanley
+and a French officer, M. de Brazza, then both worked up from the coast
+at the same time and the former reached Lake Leopold on June 1st 1882,
+while the latter concluded treaties with the Chiefs on the north bank of
+the river and founded the French Congo.</p>
+
+<p>The International Association of the Congo at once organised itself into
+an Independent State and on April 22nd 1884 a Declaration was made by
+the Government of the United States of America that it recognized the
+flag of the International Association as that of a friendly Government.
+At the end of 1884 and the beginning of 1885, Conventions were arranged
+between the Governments of Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium,
+Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Russia and Sweden and
+Norway and the International Association of the Congo in which all those
+countries recognised the flag of the International Association as that
+of a friendly Government. It is therefore clear that the chief Powers of
+the World regarded the Association as an Independent State and
+negotiated with it as such.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the Powers of Europe were annexing various parts of
+Africa, and with the idea of regulating in a spirit of mutual goodwill
+the conditions most favourable for the development of civilisation and
+commerce, a Conference was arranged at Berlin by Prince Bismarck. All
+the Powers of Europe and the United States of America sent
+plenipotentiaries who sat from November 15th 1884 to February 26th 1885
+and agreed to the General Act of Berlin of the latter date. In this it
+is decreed that all nations should enjoy complete liberty of commerce in
+all the territories constituting the basin of the Congo and its
+tributaries, and also in other parts of Central Africa mentioned, that
+slavery should be abolished and that the Congo river should be open to
+general navigation.</p>
+
+<p>We shall have to refer to this Treaty later, but it is important to note
+here that the United States of America and all the great Powers of
+Europe had recognised the International Association as an Independent
+State before it was signed. Furthermore, before this date, Conventions
+had been signed with France and Portugal to arrange the frontiers
+between the territories of those Powers and the International
+Association. The General Act of Berlin had however nothing to do with
+frontiers at all, but stated the general principles which it seemed were
+best suited to the needs of the people and territories in Central
+Africa, to which all the African Powers, and among them the
+International Association, voluntarily agreed. It is therefore clear
+that the clauses of the Act apply to all the Powers in the territories
+defined, and that the Act itself was not concerned with founding or
+regulating the system of Government of the International Association,
+which six months later took the name of the <i>&Eacute;tat Ind&eacute;pendant du Congo</i>
+with His Majesty Ring Leopold II. as sovereign.</p>
+
+<p>While engaged in studying these treaties, we arrived at Free Town,
+Sierra Leone on July 5th. Here again the place forms a beautiful picture
+from the sea. A reef runs far out and is marked by a lighthouse, while
+the town itself, protected by a fort with grass ramparts, lies on the
+south side of a kind of bay, which, however, has more the appearance of
+the mouth of a large river. Palms and other tropical plants grow to the
+water's edge and among them are yellow and red houses while higher up
+the hills behind, are isolated bungalows and the barracks, at this time
+occupied by the West African regiment. In the distance, bleak and bare
+mountains passively regard the scene. On landing, one meets faces
+showing every shade from ivory white to jet black and clothes of every
+known colour. The roads are not paved in any way, as there are neither
+horses nor wheeled vehicles here. Indeed, the houses are built in rows
+facing each other, a gutter is cut in front and the space between forms
+a street. The Custom House is an imposing structure near the beach and
+the Cathedral is a handsome Gothic church, but as one end was covered
+with scaffolding, it was not looking its best. A light railway runs up
+the hill to the barracks of the native regiment and a special train was
+arranged for the passengers of the <i>Leopoldville</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Hotel accommodation in Sierra Leone is, like the demand for it, limited.
+It is, however, possible to obtain a meal at the <i>Victoria</i>. Altogether
+Free Town leaves the impression that it could be developed into a most
+attractive watering place if it were nearer Europe and had a better
+climate.</p>
+
+<p>It is now getting rather hot and tropical, while the sea is as smooth as
+a mirror and equally reflects the glare.</p>
+
+<p>I continue to read up the Congo controversy. The report of Mr. Casement,
+at one time British Consul at Boma, created quite a sensation when it
+appeared. He stated that the Congo Free State had granted concessions to
+Trading Companies, which is a fact, and that the agents of these
+companies compelled the natives by force to collect rubber, which
+however, he does not attempt to prove by his own experience, but relies
+entirely upon reports of natives and hearsay evidence. He quoted one
+case which illustrates the extreme difficulty of discovering the truth
+from natives. He examined a boy named Epondo who stated that his left
+hand had been cut off by a native sentry. Not knowing the native
+dialect, Mr. Casement employed an interpreter, but he was convinced by
+the manner and gestures of the villagers that the boy's story was true.
+When the report appeared, the boy was again examined by some officials
+of the State, when he at once contradicted the first statement and said
+that his arm and hand had been severely bitten by a wild boar when he
+was a child and that the hand afterwards fell off. Now one of these
+tales is obviously false and there is evidence to show which, for the
+scar of a clean cut wound is different from that following gangrene.
+However, at this time I had not seen the boy, so of course could give no
+opinion. This is the only case of reputed mutilation which could be
+discovered for the benefit of Mr. Casement and was a very unfortunate
+example of an atrocity, for in the first place it was the <i>left</i> hand
+that was missing and the soldiers were supposed always to cut off the
+<i>right</i>, and in the second, there was great doubt whether it was the
+result of an accident or not.</p>
+
+<p>We were now coasting off Liberia and Captain Sparrow who was in command
+of the <i>Leopoldville</i> cheered us up with the statement that the charts
+of this part had not been revised for eighty years, that there were many
+rocks and that ships frequently went ashore here. Wreckers then went out
+and looted everything on board. It is not therefore, a pleasant place in
+which to make an enforced landing.</p>
+
+<p>Liberia itself however, must be interesting to visit, for it is an
+independent republic of negroes with an elected President, Senate and
+House of Representatives. It sells palm oil to other countries and buys
+alcohol, arms and ammunition, thus exchanging a peaceful luminant and
+lubricant for the elements of moral and physical strife. Fortunately no
+rocks appear through the bottom of the ship and Commandant Sillye
+relieves the monotony of the voyage by describing the Constitution of
+the Congo State, which however, like other constitutions, is
+occasionally revised. At its head is the Sovereign of the State aided by
+Ministers at Brussels, next in rank comes the Governor-General and
+Vice-Governor-Generals, one of whom is always at Boma. There are also
+Royal Commissioners and Inspectors of the State who are very high
+officials, but whose duties are not easily defined. The whole country is
+divided into Districts which are governed by District Commissioners. The
+Districts are divided into zones ruled by zone chiefs under the control
+of the District Commissioners. Finally the Posts and Stations are
+commanded by Post-Commanders. All these may be described as civil
+administrative officials who, subject to the general system and laws
+have practical control over more or less limited areas. The officers of
+the Force Publique rank as Commandant, Captain, Lieutenant and
+Under-Lieutenant, and there are also several white non-commissioned
+officers. The natives rank as sergeants, corporals and privates.</p>
+
+<p>On July 8th we arrive at Sekondi, Gold Coast Colony. The town from the
+sea seems to consist of white houses and huts with the usual red roofs.
+On a hillock near the shore is an old Dutch fort now used as a
+signalling station, and on the left, half way up a hill, an hotel has
+been built. The place is not very pretty or attractive-looking for there
+is not much colour and no mountains are visible. We anchor some distance
+from the beach and several open boats at once put off. These are each
+propelled by ten or twelve natives, who sit on the sides of the boat and
+ply their paddles, lustily singing as they work together and with a
+will. The paddles are shaped somewhat like those of a Canadian canoe,
+except that the blade is star shaped. All the cargo is swung overboard
+into these boats or canoes as they are called, and the passengers are
+lowered in a kind of chair. As there is a heavy ground swell running,
+the canoes are bobbing up and down like corks alongside. The chair is
+suspended in mid air and lowered rapidly as the canoe washes up, while
+all hope that it and its occupant will descend at the right moment.</p>
+
+<p>One of the passengers was an English officer, Captain Wheeler, with whom
+we had played many games of deck cricket on the voyage. First his
+regulation seventy cubic feet of baggage was lowered&mdash;an extraordinary
+amount, for no one without the aid of a slide rule and logarithms could
+possibly calculate it&mdash;and then he himself made the perilous
+descent&mdash;without a ducking. He would next have 240 miles of train
+journey to Coomassie and then a walk&mdash;or rather a journey in a
+hammock&mdash;for another 300 miles to his station.</p>
+
+<p>We now travel parallel to the Gold Coast which looks hot and uninviting,
+for there are but few patches of green or trees until Cape Coast Castle
+is reached. Here is a fort which must have impressed natives and slave
+dealers greatly in the past, a few houses and an imposing looking
+church dotted in the red sand. The whole line of the Coast here,
+somewhat recalls the Atlantic sea board of Georgia, U.S.A. and the towns
+look as though they would be as hot as Aden at its best or rather worst.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving the Gold Coast, our course is shaped across the Bight of
+Benin straight for the Congo. There is plenty of time therefore, to
+study the system of justice in the Congo. This, like everything else in
+the country, is essentially simple and practical. There is a Court of
+Premi&egrave;re Instance at Boma and others called Territorial Courts at
+Matadi, Stanley Pool, East Kwango, The Equator, Bangalas, Aruwimi,
+Stanley Falls and Kassai<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1" ></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>. In each Court is a Judge, an Officer of the
+Public Ministry and a Registrar, but in the Territorial Courts, the
+judge may assume the functions of all. These courts hear all civil
+cases, whether European or native, but the Court at Boma is alone
+competent to hear trials for capital offences, whether committed by
+soldiers or civilians. The Court of Appeal consists of the President,
+two Judges, an Officer of the Public Ministry and a Registrar, and hears
+all appeals from the judgments of the other Courts, and also from those
+given by Courts Martial against civilians who are not natives in those
+regions subjected to special rule. Natives who commit offences against
+other natives, are left to be dealt with by the local Chief<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2" ></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>. The
+Public Minister can however interfere if he thinks the crime will not
+be punished if left to the Chief.</p>
+
+<p>The Public Ministry consists of a Procureur d'&Eacute;tat appointed by the
+Sovereign, who acts in the Court of Appeal and of substitutes appointed
+by the Governor General, who act in the other Courts. Their duty is to
+discover all infractions of the law in the whole territory of the State
+and to see that all decrees, arrests, ordinances and penal regulations
+are carried out. They are especially instructed to arrange that any
+native who has been injured receives full compensation before any fine
+is taken to the profit of the State.</p>
+
+<p>Any region can be placed under military law by a decree of the Governor
+General. Civilians however, are only subject to the ordinary penal laws,
+and those who are not natives, can appeal against any decision of a
+Court Martial. In practice these simple methods work admirably and it is
+difficult to understand why they should not be equally successful in old
+civilised countries and a good substitute for the complicated and
+cumbrous machinery of to-day.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1" ></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This list is taken from <i>Justice Repressive (&Eacute;tat
+Ind&eacute;pendant du Congo)</i> and is based on a Decree of 1896. Since then
+other Territorial Courts have been or are about to be added.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2" ></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Some of the greater Chiefs and Sultans have the power to
+inflict the death sentence.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img025" id="img025" ></a><img src="images/img025.jpg" width='612' height='437' alt="THE NATIVE HOSPITAL AT BOMA." />
+<br /><b>THE NATIVE HOSPITAL AT BOMA.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II" ></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>Banana to Leopoldville.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The amount of sand in the bath water on the morning of July 12th
+indicated that we were approaching the mouth of a large river. The
+Atlantic indeed, which had varied in colour from dirty green near the
+English Channel to ultra marine at Teneriffe, was now of a fine amber
+tint. As yet land was not in sight; it was comparatively cool and a
+slight breeze was blowing. About midday the low lying coast of Central
+Africa became visible as a dark line and half an hour afterwards a
+simple break could be seen in this line which was the clearly defined
+mouth of the Congo. On reference to the chart it became clear that
+although the lower Congo forms a delta in some places twenty miles in
+width, all the streams coalesce and flow through an opening not more
+than five miles wide. On both sides the coast is low lying and well
+wooded.</p>
+
+<p>As we approach nearer, the northern point resolves itself into the
+extremity of a peninsula, for one branch of the river turns northward
+thus leaving a strip of land a few hundred yards wide. We pass through
+the mouth of the river, thread our way between several buoys, turn up
+this northern channel and arrive at an anchorage in which eight or nine
+small ships are riding. As we take up our position a boat leaves the
+shore flying the Congo Flag, a blue ground with a golden star in the
+centre. Soon after we go ashore in a &laquo;dug out&raquo; propelled by Kru boys to
+the town of Banana, which is built on this sandy peninsula and is thus
+guarded by sharks on one side and crocodiles on the other. We land at a
+wooden pier used chiefly for loading canoes. On each side are
+magnificent palms, some being more than fifty feet high and all bearing
+many cocoa nuts at this season about half ripe. These palms are not
+indigenous, but flourish here. The main highway of Banana is a path of
+clean yellow sand about ten feet wide, shaded by an avenue of these
+palms and crosses at intervals small tidal streams by rustic wooden
+bridges. Many tropical trees and shrubs grow on each side of the avenue,
+and in the bright sunshine the whole forms a very beautiful picture. It
+is unfortunate that the effect reminds one somewhat forcibly of a
+transformation scene of a pantomime and thus appears artificial although
+in reality, it is absolutely natural. The resemblance is still further
+strengthened by the numerous ladies of the ballet who leisurely stroll
+along clothed in nature's ebony black. No one seems to know the origin
+of the name of the town, for the Banana palm is not found here at all.</p>
+
+<p>At the extreme end of the point, and extending inwards for several
+hundred yards, are the grounds of the Dutch Trading Company, which has
+been established here for more than fifty years and ships many of the
+products of the country. The wooden sheds painted white are very
+picturesque amid the vivid green foliage. Beyond this area is the house
+of Dr. Carre, the Commissaire of the District of Banana, which like all
+the other houses in the town is raised on piles above the level of the
+sand, for the double purpose of ensuring a current of air beneath and of
+keeping it dry when the peninsula is flooded. It faces the sea and
+behind is a small garden in which are many meteorological instruments.
+Among these are an anemometer slowly revolving in the light air, maximum
+and minimum bulbs in the shade, on the ground and beneath it, a most
+ingenious sun dial, and a heliometer. Walking inland along the central
+avenue, we pass some native shops, one of which bears the interesting
+name of <i>Williams Brothers</i>. In many of the verandahs, native women
+wrapped in highly coloured cloths but with bare feet and legs, are
+working sewing machines or tending their children. Further on is a space
+laid out in regular squares, in each of which is a well built wooden
+house raised on piles, and an ornamental garden, the flower beds being
+bordered either with sea shells or with glass bottles pushed neck
+downwards into the sand, leaving about two inches projecting above the
+surface. A little further on is an hotel facing the sea in which is
+apparently poor accommodation and not much to eat or drink. Beyond this
+is the native village, consisting of square huts and rough gardens in
+which some potatoes seem to be growing in spite of the soil and
+temperature.</p>
+
+<p>Only about twenty Europeans live at Banana and their chief excitement is
+the arrival of the steamer. Most of them indeed came off to dinner and
+held a kind of concert in the saloon afterwards. All night long winches
+and men were creaking, groaning, and shouting, as some of the cargo was
+put overboard into two large lighters. It was not however, destined for
+Banana and was transshipped here only to lighten the <i>Leopoldville</i> so
+that she could pass a certain bar higher up the river. The cargo
+consisted of coal in the shape of brickets, cement, rice, oil, cloth,
+clothes, beads, salt and general provisions. As soon as sufficient had
+been removed, the two lighters were attached one to each side of the
+ship and we started up the main stream, which here runs between the
+south or Portuguese bank and a series of islands. All these are covered
+with dense forest the only living things visible being great black
+eagles with white wings. On the left bank of the river we pass Malela, a
+station for collecting bamboos, and soon after Kissange on the opposite
+side where palm oil is made and shipped. A little higher up, the country
+opens out and a range of hills becomes visible in the distance, the
+plain between being covered with coarse grass six or seven feet high,
+relieved at intervals by solitary palm trees. This is all Portuguese
+territory, the Congo State here possessing only a narrow strip of land
+along the northern bank. The course of the river here is very sinuous,
+winding in and out among the hills, the curves being cut more sharply
+each day as the water eats into the sand and carries it to be digested
+in the great stomach of the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>In this district both the State and the Portuguese have started large
+farms for breeding European cattle which thrive here satisfactorily.
+Higher up a solitary rock overhangs the left bank. This is known as
+Fetish Rock from the legend that the natives used to throw live people
+from it into the river as sacrifices. This is possibly true but there is
+little evidence to show that the natives of the Congo ever sacrificed
+either living or dead to propitiate anyone or anything.</p>
+
+<p>Near here we anchor for the night and are welcomed by a host of most
+noisy and vicious mosquitoes who have a particular partiality to good
+healthy European-fed blood. Again we are delayed to unload and this time
+into a small steamer the <i>Lagoon</i>&mdash;for the ship is still too deep in the
+water to cross the bar. This sandy obstruction has an unpleasant habit
+of shifting its position and it is necessary therefore to make careful
+soundings every voyage at this time of the year when the water is low.
+These are carried out by Captain Sparrow and Mr. Wright the chief Congo
+pilot with the aid of a most ingenious sounding machine. It consists of
+a simple pulley wheel raised on a standard about ten feet above the deck
+of a small pilot steamer. Over this passes a line weighted at both ends
+but unequally, and both weights hang down in the water, the heavier
+naturally being on the bottom of the river. To prevent this line&mdash;which
+corresponds to the ordinary lead line&mdash;trailing, as the boat moves
+forward, a second line is fixed to the weight and passes under water to
+the bows of the vessel where it is attached As the vessel passes slowly
+through the water, the weight rises and falls according to the level of
+the bottom, and the counterweight hauls in the slack of the line, which
+is marked in the usual way by coloured tapes. At any moment therefore,
+the depth of water can be determined by observing the tapes. There is
+now only 15-1/2 feet on the bar, so it is necessary to lighten the
+<i>Leopoldville</i> still more before it will be possible to cross. Thus
+early one of the chief difficulties in the Congo the transport of
+goods&mdash;is demonstrated.</p>
+
+<p>A fine crocodile lies asleep on the bank within easy range as we go back
+to the ship in the launch, but no one has a rifle so his dreams are
+undisturbed. As the <i>Leopoldville</i> will not be able to reach Boma until
+the morrow, we decide to go on in the &laquo;<i>Heron</i>,&raquo; a small ship which
+calls for all the &laquo;State&raquo; passengers. After Fetish Rock, the river bends
+sharply to the right and soon after Boma is in sight. At this distance
+however, the town merely appears as groups of white houses amid trees
+backed by green hills. Guarding the approach is a strong looking fort
+which already has a history, for it was captured by rebels and held for
+one or two days a few years ago.</p>
+
+<p>As the sun was seeking his couch we arrive at the iron pier at Boma on
+which we find Mr. Underwood, the Director of the well known English
+trading house of Messrs. Hatton and Cookson. With him we walk down the
+main business street of the town; a wide shady road lined with shops,
+hotels, and restaurants and traversed by a steam tram. At the end of
+this street the road continues to the right, up an incline and opposite
+to the corner is one of the entrances to the Residency. Passing this we
+leave a Catholic church, constructed of corrugated iron, on the right
+and enter a shady avenue in which is the Secretariat. We are then
+introduced to Mr. Vandamme, the Secretaire General, who at once takes us
+to the Residency and presents us to Mr. Costermans, the Governor General
+of the Congo Free State, who hopes we shall travel wherever we feel
+inclined and see anything we desire.</p>
+
+<p>The Residency is a large two storey house surrounded by a wide verandah
+and is built of iron plates bolted together. It is raised about ten feet
+from the ground on iron pillars and approached by a wide staircase with
+wooden steps. It is surrounded by a well kept garden in which are some
+statues and many tropical plants. The view from the verandah, looking up
+and down the river is very pretty. Although the house is in good
+condition and the dining room large enough to seat thirty people, it is
+thought not to be worthy of its function, and another large building
+will soon be erected on the same site.</p>
+
+<p>After this visit we proceed to a house which is kept for the use of the
+higher State Officials when they pass through Boma and which was now
+placed at our disposal. It is constructed in a similar manner to the
+Residency and although smaller, contains three lofty reception and two
+bed rooms. Two &laquo;boys&raquo; are told off to attend to our wants and after a
+rest we take a stroll round the town with Mr. Vandamme. Most of the
+official residencies are situated in one Avenue and are surrounded by
+gardens in which palms, bulbous trees, and acacias give welcome shade to
+the roses beneath. The Avenue du Plateau leads up a gentle incline to
+the Law Courts in which once a week sits the Court of Premi&egrave;re Instance.
+Near by is the prison and the terminus of the tramway. From the summit
+of the hill a grand view is obtained of the river winding between the
+hills to the East, and at one's feet is a native village nestling in a
+valley, for the natives dislike wind and cold almost as much as they do
+rain. Separated from it is another native village in which the
+Government has placed the educated people who can read and write and
+many are now ambitions to qualify for admission.</p>
+
+<p>It is now time to return to dinner with Mr. Vandamme where we meet Mr.
+Gohr, the Director of Justice, and Mr. Underwood. Everyone here dines in
+white, which is both cool and picturesque. Our host has an excellent
+native cook who gives us some very good vegetable soup, one of the
+numerous Congo fishes, all of which are nice, a very tender chicken, an
+excellent salad and a well made omelette, all of which are products of
+the country. Flour and butter have however, to be imported, as no wheat
+will grow in this part of the country and the cows give scarcely enough
+milk for their calves. Everyone retires and rises early, so at 9 p.m. we
+seek our house guided by a boy with a lantern, for most of the streets
+of Boma are not lighted artificially.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we call on Mr. Nightingale who is at present acting as British
+Consul. The consulate is about a mile from the town situated on the
+banks of the river and is well constructed of wood. Mr. Nightingale
+offers kindly to lend us any assistance on our voyage that we may
+require. Afterwards we buy many things which will be necessary up
+country, among which are bags of salt, a very popular form of money in
+some parts, and tins of petrol for the lanterns.</p>
+
+<p>Everyone in Boma works hard, from the Secretaire General who is at his
+office from 7 a.m. to midday and from 2.30 to 5 p.m. to the hardy
+healthy-looking native who wields his pick as he chats with his fellows.
+Roads are being made and gardens laid out in various places. One very
+noticeable feature of the natives here, is that they nearly all bear
+wellmarked vaccination marks. Here and there a policeman patrols in an
+effective costume of blue and red and armed with a short sword.
+Everywhere is order, method, and cleanliness, and it is very difficult
+to realise that a quarter of a century ago only three trading houses
+stood on the site of this prosperous and well-regulated little town. In
+the evening we dined with the Governor General who has both a good cook
+and butler; the wines being excellent. Outside, the band of the Force
+Publique played selections of music, rendered the more interesting by
+the fact that not one of the players could read a note of music and each
+learnt his part entirely by ear. Most of the guests were our fellow
+travellers and well known to us. The conversation turned upon the
+Sleeping Sickness, Beri Beri, the difficulty of growing wheat in the
+Congo, and the climate. It is not very hot in Boma about this time, for
+it is the winter or dry season and the nights are so cold that only the
+very hardy mosquitoes are sufficiently wide awake to prevent people
+sleeping. Still it is hotter, than we ever experience in England, and
+with forethought for the comfort of his guests, Mr. Costermans usually
+commands white costumes instead of European dress.</p>
+
+<p>The native hospital is a newly-built stone and brick structure and is
+under the charge of an Italian, Dr. Zerbini. The wards are well arranged
+in separate wings, permitting good ventilation and isolation. The beds
+are iron with bamboos stretched lengthwise, thus forming a kind of
+spring mattress. There are many cases of Sleeping Sickness in the
+hospital exhibiting various symptoms. In the early stages the patient
+has many fits of emotional excitement and these alternate with periods
+of physical and mental languor. Afterwards he lies for weeks or months
+as if dead and can only be persuaded to eat with great difficulty.
+Ultimately complete coma supervenes. A motile bacillus has been
+discovered which is supposed to cause the disease and there is evidence
+that this may be carried by a mosquito or fly, but until the discoveries
+of the doctors, sent out by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine,
+are published, it is premature to give an opinion. Up to the present
+many remedies have been prescribed without success. There is no small
+pox and little phthisis, and it is interesting to learn that
+appendicitis is unknown in Africa. Rupture is very common among the
+natives and venereal diseases are frequent.</p>
+
+<p>As I was destined to become well acquainted with the <i>Croix rouge</i>, the
+hospital for Europeans, I will describe this institution later. On the
+reverse slope of the central hill of Boma are the quarters of the army,
+the Force Publique. The soldiers are fine looking fellows with a very
+pretty uniform; blue wide cut breeches to the knee, the legs and feet
+being bare, blue shirt with red facings and belt, and a red fez. They
+are armed with Albini rifles, a very strong weapon which will stand any
+amount of rough usage. Everything is scrupulously clean and the married
+quarters especially look very comfortable. Each couple has a room fitted
+with bed, table and chairs. They are recruited from all over the country
+and the service is so popular that in many parts far more men volunteer
+to serve than are required. The force does not exceed 13,600 in number
+and is recruited for long or short service.</p>
+
+<p>The prison is situated on the plateau in an open, airy place. The
+building is constructed of iron plates and the separate cells and rooms
+are lofty and clean. There are one or two Europeans here who have been
+sentenced for theft or for cruelty to natives, for the State is
+determined that all its subjects should be well treated. These are of
+course kept entirely separate from the natives. Only the natives who
+have been sentenced to more than one year are sent here and then after a
+time they are forwarded to the penal settlements. Some are cannibals,
+but most are thieves, and all wear light chains. It is somewhat warm
+walking about Boma but there is no alternative, for there are no
+carriages and only a horse or two for the Governor General. The State
+regulates very strictly the importation of arms. Permission has to be
+obtained from the Governor General before any fire arms can be landed;
+then each one is stamped on the butt with the Star of the State and a
+number which is registered. If anyone in the country wishes to purchase
+a weapon from another, both buyer and seller have to obtain permission
+from the Governor General. These laws are very excellent for they
+effectually keep modern weapons out of the hands of the natives. Having
+complied with the regulations and declared our ammunition, our rifles
+and guns are restored to us with pretty little souvenir marks on the
+butts. We next apply for a special licence to shoot big game, and this
+is promised, but as it takes time to prepare will be sent up country
+after us.</p>
+
+<p>The import duly on alcohol is very heavy and runs up to 47 per cent. <i>ad
+valorem</i> and no still of any kind is permitted to be set up in the
+country. Beyond Matadi indeed, special permission has to be obtained
+before Europeans can carry any spirituous liquors, and then they have to
+declare that it is not for sale to the natives. Heads of commercial
+houses are made responsible for the observance of this law by their
+employ&eacute;s and the State officials themselves are only permitted to have
+three litres of spirits each month, while absinthe is entirely
+prohibited. Every white man, however, is given one litre of red wine
+each day as a ration and there seems to be no limit to the amount of
+beer which may be drunk, except its great price, for a bottle of lager
+costs 3 francs at Leopoldville and twice that amount higher up the
+river.</p>
+
+<p>It is indeed becoming apparent that the Government is a veritable parent
+and a stern one also. However, as we promise to be good boys we are
+permitted to carry a few cases of whisky and wine&mdash;after paying the
+duty&mdash;to act as &laquo;medical comforts&raquo; in case of sickness. These medical
+comforts are also a feature of the State, each white being allowed a
+bottle or two of champagne and port every three months. Every official
+indeed receives much kindness and consideration from the State but is
+severely punished any lapse of duty. The whites are fined for
+carelessness or negligence, by stopping their pay for a certain number
+of days, and for serious offences any official may be revocated, when he
+will perhaps lose six months' or even a years' pay. Offences against the
+penal laws are of course punished by imprisonment.</p>
+
+<p>An excellent institution in Boma is the <i>colonie scolaire</i> where
+foundlings are reared and educated. Orphans, deserted children,
+half-castes, all are received and trained for some useful purpose, some
+entering the army, some engaging on the plantations, some becoming
+servants to the officials.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to form any idea of the Congo native in Boma, for the
+blacks are of very different nationalities. Natives from Lagos,
+Sierra-Leone, Portuguese and French territory, all are attracted by the
+high wages to be earned in the town. Indeed at present most of the
+positions of responsibility, requiring a fair education, are held by
+foreign blacks, for very few true Congolese can be trusted. The personal
+servants we engaged were thus all foreigners in the State service. Two
+rejoiced in the names of Chikaia and Jean, and acted as &laquo;boys&raquo; <i>i.e.</i> as
+valets, butlers and general servants while Luembo was cook, and Mavunga,
+washerman. Each one had a formal contract of five articles signed by us,
+by a delegate for the Governor General, and by the Judge of Premi&egrave;re
+Instance, whose duty it was to see the contract was not broken. The
+State indeed, superintends everything even to the finding and engaging
+of private servants for travellers. The wages earned by these boys are
+very much higher than servants receive in India or China. The cook was
+paid 35 francs and the others 25 francs per month and all found.</p>
+
+<p>The Customs, the Post Office, and the Land Office, are all conveniently
+situated in one building on the beach near to the landing pier. In the
+latter, all the landowners in the State are registered, careful maps
+being prepared showing the extent and position of each plot of land. The
+land laws are very simple. The villages are the absolute freehold
+property of the natives, and are registered in the names of the Chiefs.
+Vacant lands as usual are the property of the State and the Chartered
+Companies, Missionaries, and Traders, as a rule, are annual leaseholders
+but the lease is always renewed if the conditions on which it is granted
+are observed.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday we lunched with the Governor General, Mr. Gohr, the Director
+of Justice&mdash;who at present is in the unenviable position of having many
+critics in Europe, usually imperfectly informed of the details and
+evidence laid before the judges&mdash;Mr. Vandamme, who knows everyone and
+everything connected with the State, Commandant and Madame Sillye, Judge
+and Madame Webber, and some others. Afterwards, Mr. Webber, the Judge of
+the Court of Premi&egrave;re Instance, who is an excellent pianist, gives us
+proof of his talent. This is the last pleasant music we are fated to
+hear for many a month, for nothing but concertinas and gramophones are
+found in the interior.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img039" id="img039" ></a><img src="images/img039.jpg" width='319' height='550' alt="THE CATARACTS RAILWAY NEAR MATADI." />
+<br /><b>THE CATARACTS RAILWAY NEAR MATADI.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>Having obtained bundles of permits to do various things, and arranged
+for letters and parcels to be sent after us into the interior, we left
+Boma on the morning of July 19th for Matadi in the &laquo;Leopoldville&raquo;. The
+Congo just above Boma somewhat resembles the Highlands of Scotland, and
+the similarity was emphasised by the fact that it was raining hard.
+The hills were bare of trees, the current ran rapidly, forming
+whirlpools, while many sleepy crocodiles lazily flopped into the water
+as we passed. After ascending some twenty miles, the river turns sharply
+to the right and runs between cliffs which descend sheer into the water,
+forming a narrow chasm not more than half a mile broad. As the whole of
+the immense volume of water in the Congo has to pass through this gorge,
+it is enormously deep and the current is very rapid. The depth has not
+been accurately ascertained, but it is certainly 500 feet, if not more,
+and the flow of the water is at the rate of nearly ten knots an hour, so
+that the smaller steamers cannot ascend at all, and the larger only
+creep slowly up.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img041" id="img041" ></a><img src="images/img041.jpg" width='608' height='408' alt="THE RAILWAY STATION AT MATADI." />
+<br /><b>THE RAILWAY STATION AT MATADI.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>Matadi is soon after in sight. It is built on the south side of the
+Congo valley, for, as a glance at the map will explain, the State owns
+both banks at this point, but further up, the river becomes the frontier
+with the French Congo. Matadi is an ancient&mdash;if the word may be used in
+connection with the Congo at all&mdash;settlement, constructed at the point
+where navigation on the river is interrupted by cataracts and rapids for
+some two hundred miles until smooth water is reached again at Stanley
+Pool. A caravan route runs from Matadi to Leopoldville, and it was
+during the march of twenty days over the mountains that in the early
+days, so much trouble was occasioned by the native porters. All this is
+abolished now by the railway. The town itself stands on the side of a
+steep hill and consists of narrow streets paved with cobbles. Here as
+usual in the Congo, man is restricted to his primeval method of
+locomotion. Two iron piers jut into the stream and at their ends the
+European steamers discharge their cargoes into the railway trucks
+alongside. High up on the hill stands a capacious stone structure, the
+house of the Commissioner of the Matadi District, Mr. De Rache, with
+whom we dine, after arranging to leave by the train which starts next
+day. The distance to be traversed is 220 miles and the fare is &pound;8 each
+1st. class and &pound;1 second for the boys. Besides this, baggage over a
+hundred kilos, is charged at the rate of one franc a kilo, which is
+probably the highest rate paid for railway travelling in the world. Our
+fares indeed cost us about &pound;80.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the morning of the 20th, we leave Matadi. The train consists of
+two engines, two open covered carriages for the second class passengers,
+who are mostly natives, a saloon and baggage wagon. The gauge is a very
+narrow one, so space is all-important, but the man who designed the
+chairs in the saloon must have exercised the most fiendish ingenuity to
+make them as uncomfortable as possible. There are six on each side,
+arranged in pairs with a small bracket table in between, and each one is
+on a pivot. The back is straight upright and the seat is of cane,
+cone-shaped, the highest point being in the centre. Now as the curves
+and gradients of the line are very sharp indeed, it is necessary to hold
+fast the whole time, to prevent slipping on to the floor. If one puts a
+foot on the opposite seat to steady oneself, it at once revolves,
+leaving the leg in mid air. However, we fix ourselves in as well as
+possible and enjoy the magnificent scenery. For a few hundred yards the
+line runs along the valley of the Congo and a good view of the lowest
+cataract is obtained, the brown water dashing over the rocks and
+throwing up spray which is converted into brilliant jewels by the
+youthful sun not yet an hour old. Then turning sharply to the right, the
+train runs up the valley of the Posu, a mountain torrent which rushes
+and roars through a narrow defile. Snorting angrily, the engines climb
+up this steep gradient, cross the river by an iron bridge and then
+groaning under the brakes, slide down into another valley. The main
+direction however, is upwards, and as the country opens out below, one
+gets a first impression of the enormity and grandeur of Central Africa.
+As far as the eye reaches, are ranges of hills, the Palabala Mountains
+crowned by a great cone which appears first on one side then the other,
+as we cork-screw our way up. The line indeed is a marvel of engineering
+construction, for a most difficult piece of country is traversed without
+a single tunnel and with very few cuttings and embankments. The length
+of the railway is, of course, very much greater than a straight line
+would be between the same points, for it frequently countermarches
+backwards and forwards up a hill side, and after a detour of perhaps a
+quarter of a mile, comes back to the same place, but thirty or forty
+feet higher up. The company which undertook the task of building the
+line met with many difficulties, but finished it at a cost of &pound;3,000,000
+and many native lives. It was built between the years 1891 and 1897 and
+the workmen were recruited from Senegal and the British Colonies of
+Africa. Frequent stops are necessary for the engines to drink and gain
+their second winds, for their work here is very arduous. After two or
+three hours, however, a plateau is reached and the line runs for miles
+through dense forests of palms, acacias and &laquo;parasol&raquo; trees (native
+Motumbi). The name exactly describes these trees, for the branches are
+arranged like the ribs, and the leaves spread out and form the covering
+of the sunshade.</p>
+
+<p>Between the belts of forests the country is covered with coarse grass,
+six or seven feet high, dotted here and there with palms. No vestige of
+animal life is visible and only a few natives who are engaged on the
+railway. These inhabit villages near at hand, formed of huts built of
+reeds or bamboo and thatched with grass. The men wear a loin cloth only,
+but the women are wrapped in a plain piece of richly coloured cloth
+which reaches from the neck to the ankle leaving the arms and feet bare.
+This is evidently a simple length of stuff some three or four feet wide
+and, to the masculine eye at least, its method of support remains a
+mystery, for no trace of button, hook or pin is apparent. Their faces
+are of the negroid type with broad noses and thick lips and the figures
+of the women approach the shape of an S reversed thus [backwards S] and
+are similar to those which our American cousins have so largely
+developed. The men are as a rule thin and tall with very long legs and
+all appear to have only small arches to their feet. On the lower Congo
+however, there are many foreigners and several other types are visible.
+As far as one can judge by the railway cuttings, the soil on the plateau
+is coarse sand and gravel containing iron and quite unsuitable for
+agricultural purposes under such a hot sun. The air however, as we
+approach Tumba, about 2000 feet above sea level, is dry and fresh and at
+4 p.m. we halt there for the night.</p>
+
+<p>We are met by Commandant Delhaz, the Commissaire of the Cataracts
+District, who kindly places a bungalow at our disposal for the night and
+shows us round the settlement. There is only a small native village
+here, but large barracks consisting of lines of clean, clay huts
+constructed by the soldiers. Tumba is indeed an important military
+centre and here again the appearance of the troops is very fine as they
+march to the strains of the band which renders snatches from <i>Faust</i>,
+<i>Carmen</i> and other well known airs with a few native variations. A farm
+has been established in the neighbourhood to feed the garrison and an
+automobile road is in course of construction.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, we dress by candle light and make a hasty breakfast, in
+the midst of which, at 6 a.m., reveille sounds and the troops assemble
+in the square in front of the Residency. Half an hour afterwards, the
+train starts, and having perched ourselves on the summits of the seats,
+we soon reach Sonna Gongo the half-way house for travellers of the
+future. Here is a depot for locomotives and carriages and wooden hotels
+are being constructed to accommodate travellers who, after August, will
+stop here for the night instead of at Tumba.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Sonna Gongo, the line rapidly searches for a lower level and the
+view is magnificent, as a great endless expanse of land is unfolded.
+Here and there are banks of smoke caused by the veldt fires and often
+close to the railway the high dry grass has been lighted by a chance
+spark from an engine, and is burning furiously. We now zigzag down hill
+instead of up and far beneath, can be seen the thin line of rails
+glistening in the sun like fillets of silk. Having reached this level,
+we plunge through inviting looking forests at one time full of
+elephants, buffaloes and other game, but practically deserted now save
+by monkeys and parrots.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the train stops at a station where the natives have assembled
+to sell fruit and kwanga, a kind of bread made from the flour of the
+manioc root and the chief article of native diet. It consists chiefly of
+starch and is not unpleasant when fresh and toasted. The natives
+however, prefer all food in a high stage of decomposition and it is some
+time before the very smell of it ceases to make one feel ill. To see
+them eating kwanga fish or the flesh of elephants, monkeys, antelopes or
+other animals generally both rotten and raw is most disgusting and
+brings home the fact sharply that man here is of a very low type.</p>
+
+<p>The oranges the natives sell are very acid, more resembling grape-fruit
+than the orange of Florida, but the bananas are as good as any in the
+world and the pine apples&mdash;three of which can be bought for half a
+franc&mdash;are equal to the finest hot-house variety.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img047" id="img047" ></a><img src="images/img047.jpg" width='633' height='451' alt="THE STEAMER &laquo;FLANDRE.&raquo;" />
+<br /><b>THE STEAMER &laquo;FLANDRE.&raquo;</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>The line now descends again until it reaches a flat hot, sandy and
+uninteresting plain across which it runs absolutely straight for seven
+miles until it reaches Kinshasa on the South bank of Stanley Pool. A few
+miles further on, is the rail head, Leopoldville. Like everything else
+in the Congo, this town has been arranged and built for practical use.
+The railway runs along the beach so as to facilitate the loading and
+unloading of the steamers of the upper river, and in a very short time
+all our baggage is taken from the train and carried straight on board
+the <i>Flandre</i> where we find cabins booked for us. This is an excellent
+arrangement and saves much trouble, for although the steamer does not
+sail for two days, passengers are allowed to live on board while in
+port. Indeed it is very necessary, for there are no hotels in the town,
+and no accommodation for visitors except a few rooms in the commercial
+houses.</p>
+
+<p>Some traits of the native's character were now to be demonstrated to us.
+His main idea always is, to do as little work as possible and he will
+often take the greatest trouble in his effort to accomplish this object.
+Each native endeavoured to put his load as near the gangway as possible
+which was soon blocked and then he had to come back, hoist the package
+on his head again and carry it to its proper place. Although this
+performance took place every day, unless an officer was constantly on
+the watch, the foolish fellows in their attempts to shirk duty brought
+upon themselves extra work. The cabins were unfurnished, for everyone
+carries his own bed on the Congo, and most also their own tent. It was
+therefore necessary to unpack a bed. Here was a difficulty. All the bags
+and boxes were carefully numbered by the Army and Navy Stores and the
+invoice no doubt sent to my London address but I left before it arrived,
+and there was no possibility of discovering which number meant bed.
+Seizing a likely looking bale, the boys unlace it, and find a part of a
+tent, and a second attempt brings to light another part of a tent. It is
+now growing dark and a light is necessary, but in which of these seventy
+odd cases is the lamp? Not knowing the native mind, I explain that it is
+necessary to hurry and find the bed before dark. This evidently conveys
+no meaning at all to the boys, for in the first place it was not their
+bed and so it mattered nothing to them, and in the second, they had
+never hurried before in their lives, and could not do so now, even if
+they wished. Lacing the first bales up slowly and deliberately, they
+open another and find a canvas bath and washhandstand. These are at any
+rate useful, and encouraged by success we try again and come across
+hand-irons and starch. At length we find a thing like a large concertina
+which is really a folding bed with pillows and blankets, complete. By
+great good luck a mosquito curtain is then found and the steward kindly
+lends a candle.</p>
+
+<p>Hot, sticky, tired and cross we prepare for our first meal on a Congo
+steamer. It consisted of a soup of mystery, chicken, which had been
+washed in the river close to a group of natives bathing and a goat,
+killed an hour before dinner, whose flesh was thrown quivering into the
+pot. However, there was some bread and tinned peaches and it was no use
+being fastidious in Central Africa. This was washed down with the
+regulation half litre of red wine, a kind of claret which is quite
+drinkable and some native coffee which had a delicate and fine aroma,
+but was badly made.</p>
+
+<p>The captain&mdash;as indeed are nearly all the officers of the river
+steamers&mdash;was a Scandinavian and spoke English very well. He explained
+that the ship was not very clean or inviting-looking, which was the
+truth, but as the lower deck was lumbered up with the horses of
+Commandant Sillye and was swarming with natives, it was only to be
+expected.</p>
+
+<p>Then to bed, but not to sleep, for the boys to save themselves trouble,
+had not fixed the mosquito net properly. In my innocence I merely
+ordered them to do it and had not stood by and watched. It is indeed
+necessary always to see that the native does as he is told, for the
+moment one's back is turned, he is eating if there is anything rotten
+enough at hand to tempt him and if not, he quietly goes to sleep. Even
+these State servants who speak the native language and also a kind of
+French, really live the lives of animals, for they eat, drink, and sleep
+if left alone and only work when they are shown how, and watched all the
+time.</p>
+
+<p>The result was that I spent a most horrible night, for the mosquitoes
+were terribly hostile and evidently recognised a new European with some
+healthy blood. In the morning, my head, which I had had shaved in the
+Congo fashion, was covered with large bumps and face, neck, hands and
+wrists were all blotches. It was therefore with little appetite that I
+sat down to a breakfast of bread, dutch cheese, curious tinned butter
+and weak coffee without milk. Little however, did I think then that in
+six short months a Congo steamer would seem like a first class hotel, so
+entirely is everything altered by comparison.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img051" id="img051" ></a><img src="images/img051.jpg" width='627' height='507' alt="CATARACTS AT LEOPOLDVILLE." />
+<br /><b>CATARACTS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III" ></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Higher Congo.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Next day we make a formal call on Mr. Mahieu, Inspecteur d'Etat of the
+Congo State, whose headquarters are at Leopoldville. He is a very busy
+man with a multitude of duties, for the paternal system is continued all
+through the State and the most trivial matters are always referred to
+the highest official in the neighbourhood. As we are to lunch at the
+Residency, we do not stay long, but take a ride with Commandant and Mme.
+Sillye on four of the horses the former purchased at Dakar. Although a
+little stiff after their holiday of a month, they have not been
+otherwise affected by their sea voyage and two days in the train. Along
+the beach are many steamers charging and discharging and others on the
+slips being repaired or partly built. These steamers are all brought out
+in sections and put together on the beach. They are flat bottomed, are
+driven by stern wheels and only draw three or four feet of water. They
+all burn wood, and special depots are formed at intervals on the rivers
+where stores of this fuel are collected. Should however, a steamer run
+short, it is only necessary to stop and send the crew ashore with knives
+for the banks are lined with forest.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving the beach we ride through avenues of palms and mango trees to
+higher ground, whence a beautiful view can be obtained of Stanley Pool.
+This is really a part of the river about sixteen miles wide, shut in by
+hills on each side, but its size is not apparent from the water itself,
+as a great number of islands cut the stream into numerous narrow
+channels. Towards the south, the river narrows again and at this point
+is the uppermost of the cataracts, the water hurling itself against the
+rocks in its efforts to escape and recoiling in spray high into the air.
+From just below Leopoldville all the way to Matadi, the river indeed
+rushes down narrow gorges, but above, for nearly a thousand miles, it is
+navigable for steamers. On a hill above the rapid, is a large tree under
+which Stanley pitched his tent and which still bears his name.</p>
+
+<p>Many native villages exist near Leopoldville, consisting of huts formed
+of wooden frames and thatched with grass. There are no plantations or
+factories here but great numbers of natives are at present employed in
+road making and in constructing a new slip for launching the steamers.
+Evidently our little party gives rise to much comment for several of
+the natives have probably never seen a horse before, and a cavalcade of
+four of these strange animals is something entirely new. On our way back
+to the ship we pass down the main street in which are the administrative
+offices, the mess, the doctors' and other private houses and close to
+the beach, the Residency, over which flies the State flag and in front
+of which patrols a sentry. At first one thought the sentry in front of
+the chief official's house in each town, was merely a symbol of
+authority as in Europe, afterwards however, it becomes apparent that the
+system of Government in the Congo is based on absolute uniformity. Every
+Post, however big or small, has its State flag and every chief official,
+from the Governor to the chief of a Wood Post, has a sentry at his door.
+Each morning at sunrise the flag is hoisted, while the guard presents
+arms and every evening at sunset it is lowered with like ceremony.
+Indeed, the whole system is military, for everyone rises, works, eats
+and sleeps at the command of the clarion. It is a custom at most
+official and private parties in the Congo, to hand round port wine and
+cigars before sitting down to table. At first this seemed a strange kind
+of &laquo;aperative&raquo;, but soon the glass of port became very agreeable after
+the morning's work.</p>
+
+<p>Ten or twelve guests were assembled on the verandah when we arrived, and
+soon Mr. Armarni joined the group. He is an Italian, an ex-naval officer
+of distinction and now Commissaire du Roi of the Congo, a position which
+ranks with, but after, that of Governor General. By a simple and
+practical device, the relative rank of all the Administrative and
+Military officials can be determined at a glance. Each wears a blue
+gauntlet on each wrist and forearm over the white sleeve of his coat and
+affixed on this are a number of gold bands. A captain of a river
+steamer, perhaps has three or four bands, a Chef de Poste, four or five,
+a Commissaire of a Zone or District, seven or eight, an Inspecteur
+d'Etat, nine or ten, and the Governor General, eleven. In order however,
+to economise space and perhaps to facilitate counting, when more than
+three stripes are worn, a broad strip is substituted which corresponds
+to the original three. Thus an official with five stripes wears one
+broad and two narrow ones, while the Governor General wears three broad
+stripes and two narrow ones. The chief decoration, the order of the
+Lion, can only be gained by Belgians, but the Congo Star is given to all
+after a certain term of service. Those who hold purely civil
+appointments such at Judges, Secretaries and Directors of Transport,
+wear no stripes at all.</p>
+
+<p>At 2.30 p.m. a bugle sounded and a chattering throng of natives hurried
+past the Inspector's house towards the beach to resume work, which is
+always interrupted for three hours at 11.30 a.m. during the heat of the
+day. In order to feed these people and the soldiers of the Force
+Publique at Leopoldville, about a ton and a half of kwanga is prepared
+every day from the manioc grown in the villages around, and every able
+bodied native has to contribute his or her quota of work. Each person
+indeed is supposed to work for at least forty hours each month, and
+whether engaged on roads, buildings, or other public work, or in
+collecting rubber, wood for the steamers, or kwanga for food, is paid at
+the current rate. The principle of the system of Government, although
+entirely novel, is undoubtedly sound and suited to the country and the
+condition of the native. The whole territory is divided into two great
+parts, the lands of the native chiefs and the vacant lands called here
+the Domaine Priv&eacute;. The Government has however, disposed of part of these
+to Concessionary Companies in this sense, that the Companies have the
+right to exploit all the products of the forest in these areas. Other
+portions have been leased to Missions, to Commercial Houses and to
+private people. The Government collects the rubber, ivory, food stuffs,
+and other produce from the Domain Lands and with the proceeds,
+constructs roads, navigates the rivers, maintains the Government and
+army and generally develops the country and civilises the natives.</p>
+
+<p>Trading relations are formed with the chiefs as follows: Agents are sent
+into their districts with brass wire, cloth, salt, beads, or other
+things likely to attract the natives, and these are exchanged for
+rubber, ivory, gum copal, manioc, fish, fowl or other produce; thus the
+value of rubber, ivory or any other substance is determined in terms of
+brass wire, cloth or salt and so its value in sterling. Similarly, the
+value of native labour is discovered and the native paid accordingly.
+The brass wire is cut into lengths called mitakos, this form of currency
+having been introduced by the late Sir H.M. Stanley. The length of the
+mitako, and so its value, varies in different parts of the country. At
+present there seems to be no limit to the amount of wire cut into
+mitakos, but as the natives use great quantities to make brass rings for
+the arms and legs of both sexes, it is difficult to say to what extent
+the currency is being debased. The pay of skilled labour here is high,
+and unskilled workers receive about as much as similar labourers in
+India. The natives pay no taxes in money or its equivalent, but instead
+are compelled to do this 40 hours' work per month for the State.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon we cross the neck of Stanley Pool and visit
+Brazzaville, the capital of the French Congo. The town is situated close
+to the beach, but the Government offices are high up on a hill above.
+Having found the Secretariat, we explain that we are British travellers
+and desire to pay our respects to the Governor. The Secretary telephones
+as we wait in the office and presumably the Governor asks whether we
+have introductions and what we want, for the answer goes back <i>Non, ils
+sont venus, Pop!!!</i> However, the Governor, Mr. Gentil, who has spent
+many years in the Congo, receives us very kindly, offers to help us with
+steamers on the river, gives us some letters of introduction to French
+officials on the Ubangi and permits to shoot game. Every where indeed
+one meets with kindness, help and consideration from the officials in
+Africa, which is in marked contrast to the hide bound system of
+formalities which it is necessary to observe and maintain in Europe.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img057" id="img057" ></a><img src="images/img057.jpg" width='642' height='365' alt="STEAMERS AND DOCKS AT LEOPOLDVILLE." />
+<br /><b>STEAMERS AND DOCKS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>A great blowing of the steamer's whistle now takes place, for it is
+getting late and it is impossible to navigate the Congo after sunset.
+The captain is therefore becoming anxious, but enough light remains to
+see the buoys and we reach Leopoldville soon after 6 p.m. We have
+arranged to dine at the Mess, an excellent institution wherein all the
+Europeans of every rank, except the very highest officials, sit down
+together. The Commandant of the Force Publique, the Commandant of the
+Port, the Directors of Transports and Posts, and the Doctors, all
+take their dinner with the working artisans. Altogether about 130 men
+attend the mess, where the cooking and service is excellent while each
+has a small bottle of wine and a cup of coffee. By this means, every man
+is ensured good wholesome food, and the necessity of restaurants, in
+which indiscriminate drinking might take place, is avoided.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, July 23rd. the <i>Flandre</i> leaves Leopoldville and steams to
+Kinshasa where we stop and land. Here as usual the keynote is
+development. Roads are being made, avenues of palms, mangoes and pine
+apples planted and store houses, factories and plantations constructed.
+At the coffee factory here, the beans are extracted from the shells,
+sorted into sizes and qualities and packed in bags. Many kinds of coffee
+have been planted in the Congo, but none are equal to the wild variety
+found in the forest, which is as good as any in the world when properly
+made. Near at hand is a brick field, where the bricks are made in metal
+moulds, the clay being forced in by long levers. They are not made as
+quickly as those fashioned by a machine but the process is a great
+improvement on the old-fashioned method of brick making in wooden
+moulds. It is already apparent that beer is regarded as a luxury here so
+we order some dozens at three francs a bottle and having taken some
+photos return to the ship.</p>
+
+<p>On the beach were some fine elephant tusks which have been collected by
+the agents of the <i>Soci&eacute;t&eacute; Anonyme Belge</i>. When a native finds a pair of
+tusks in the territory of the company, the State takes one as a royalty
+and the company buys the other for a certain quantity of cloth. This
+only represents a fraction of the value in Europe, but is gladly
+accepted by the native who has no use for it except to make war horns.
+Indeed in the old days, the chiefs used to form a kind of fence round
+their huts by sticking the points in the ground, little thinking that in
+another part of the world, not even the millionaire of fiction ever
+constructed such an expensive railing. Then the Arab slave raiders came
+and stole both the native women and the ivory, so that the white man who
+gives beautiful coloured cloth for these useless elephants' tusks is
+regarded as a very generous trader. In the afternoon the <i>Flandre</i>
+continued her journey threading her way between the numerous islands in
+Stanley Pool, and finally tied up to the bank of the island of Bamu
+which is French territory. This island enjoys the distinction of being
+the only one in the Congo which has an owner, for all the rest are
+declared to be no man's land by international treaty. It is reputed to
+be full of game, and we go ashore to look for it, but return without
+seeing anything. As the mosquitoes prevent all sleep in the cabin, we
+arrange to make up a bed on deck and obtain a better night's rest, for
+it is comparatively cool here in the evening in the open.</p>
+
+<p>I am very anxious to bathe next morning, but the captain strongly
+disadvises for the currents are very strong here, and the river is full
+of crocodiles. In the midst of breakfast we are startled by the report
+that the ship is on fire, and smoke is seen to be issuing from the fore
+hatch, under which much of the wood used for fuel is stored. None of the
+Europeans however, are more excited than the natives, who, leisurely and
+with due deliberation, hand up buckets of water. Nothing indeed could
+make a native hurry. The captain seems a trifle upset, and states that
+it may be necessary to run on a rock, and thus make a hole in the bows
+and flood the hold. This seems to be rather a desperate remedy, but no
+one shows the slightest interest. This appeared curious at the time;
+since however, it has transpired that fires in the holds are of common
+occurrence, and that as the ships are all of iron, they usually burn
+themselves out without harming anything. Soon after however, the captain
+with an alarmed look, rushes up on deck and said that a terrible crime
+or a great mistake had been committed. It appeared that by some error,
+our cases of beer and some others belonging to Commandant Sillye had
+been left on the beach at Kinshasa. Immediately we anchored last night a
+native boatswain, or capita, was sent with six men in a canoe to fetch
+them and ought to have returned by midnight. Nothing however, was heard
+of the boat until now when the capita appeared and told a harrowing
+story. He found the cases all right and started to return across the
+river, but as it began to blow hard, he thought it better to make for
+land and wait until the morning before trying to find the ship. He
+succeeded in landing on the island of Bamu and soon after a white man
+appeared with some Senegalese soldiers and demanded to know what was in
+the cases. He explained, when the white man fired and killed all the
+crew, but he ran away and escaped. The affair seemed serious so Lord
+Mountmorres and Commandant Sillye left for Brazzaville to discover the
+truth, while I stayed on the ship to superintend the landing of our
+cargo if the fire extended.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the Commandant of the Port of Leopoldville arrived in a
+steamer and asked if we wanted assistance as another ship had run on the
+rocks higher up and sunk and he was hastening to rescue any possible
+survivors. Sunday, July 24th indeed, seemed to be a veritable day of
+horrors, but still no one appeared at all excited. By midday the fire in
+the forehold was extinguished and thus one danger was removed. Later in
+the afternoon just before sunset, an immense flock of ducks and geese
+crossed the river, but as they were flying nearly a hundred feet up in
+the air, it was impossible to shoot them. Soon after Mountmorres and
+Sillye returned and reported they had found all the crew safe, except
+one man who had probably deserted and had also brought back the cases of
+beer. The white man was a French officer of Customs, who had naturally
+thought the crew of the canoe were engaged in smuggling and had fired
+blank cartridges to frighten them. So passed an eventful day with much
+smoke but little fire. It was indeed becoming apparent that the Congo
+was a true land of exaggerations. On all sides were great hills, great
+plains, great forests, great rivers, great beasts, great trees, and
+great lies.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we continued our course up Stanley-Pool, which meant threading
+our way up narrow channels between uninteresting sandbanks covered with
+forest or grass. In the distance could be seen the hills forming the
+boundaries of the Pool and at its upper end <i>Dover Cliffs</i> so called
+from their resemblance to that part of the English coast. About midday
+we sighted the <i>Anversville</i>, the vessel which was supposed to have been
+sunk, comfortably lying on a sand bank, and the <i>Brugesville</i> which had
+gone to her assistance, also resting on the same bank. One of the
+passengers came off to the <i>Flandre</i> and told us that no one was hurt
+and all the baggage was safe and that he had heard we had been burnt
+out, attacked by natives and all killed. Truly the Congo is a wonderful
+place.</p>
+
+<p>As the <i>Flandre</i> moors we decide to go ashore hunting. Within a few
+yards of the bank is the lair of a hippopotamus and the spoor of
+elephants. It is however, very difficult walking, for patches of land
+are covered with long grass seven or eight feet high and the rest is
+bog. After struggling along for a few minutes, I hear a curious noise
+like a very asthmatic fog horn not above five yards away. Nothing is
+however, visible, for the grass forms a complete cover. Again the grunt
+with a suspicious after-sniff and at the same moment Chikaia, who is
+carrying my gun snaps his fingers&mdash;the usual sign to indicate game&mdash;and
+beckons me to follow. I endeavour to do so, and at once sink in the bog
+up to the knees, but fortunately keep my rifle dry. By clutching the
+grass, I get out and we follow the spoor of the hippo as rapidly as
+possible. This is very clearly marked, for the grass has been recently
+thrust aside and there are great holes in the soft mud over a foot wide
+and deep, made by the great feet of the beast. These holes were in pairs
+lying close together, showing that the hippo was galloping as he passed
+and unfortunately they led straight to the river.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we leave the Pool and enter a part of the river called the
+Channel. Here there are no islands and both banks are visible all the
+time, the width not being more than a mile in some places. A low range
+of hills covered with acacias or coarse grass, exists on each side. As
+usual, we stop at a Wood Post to take fuel on board. This is cut in logs
+three or four feet long and stacked in heaps about the same in width and
+height. Sticks are placed in the ground connected by lines at the
+required height and the logs are laid in rows until the space is filled.
+The result is a cubic yard of wood known in the Congo as a <i>bras</i>, but
+the bras differs in size and price considerably, in some cases the cost
+being 5 mitakos and in others double that amount. A native can easily
+collect a bras of wood in the forest and carry it to the bank in a day
+and in some of the Wood Posts fifty or sixty natives are employed. Even
+then however, the demand for wood by the big steamers is sometimes
+greater than the supply.</p>
+
+<p>At 6 p.m. every day the steamer stops for the night and makes fast to a
+tree on the bank. All the native passengers at once go ashore, light
+fires and arrange their beds for the night. They sleep on mats or with
+the whole body, and head also, wrapped up closely in rugs. Either their
+feet or heads are always within a few inches of the fire and their
+bodies radiate out like the spokes of a wheel. Until 9.30 p.m., however,
+when all lights on the steamer must be put out, a ceaseless chatter
+proceeds with an occasional angry discussion as the natives take their
+meal of kwanga, fish, and any odd piece of meat they can procure. It is
+a somewhat weird sight, the black forms showing dimly in the ruddy light
+of the fires under the trees. The bell on the steamer rings the command
+and everyone goes to bed, and then one appreciates the real silence of
+the equatorial forest which one has heard about at home. Within a few
+yards, hundreds of frogs commence to croak loudly and continue steadily,
+with a few pauses to breathe, until daybreak. Hundreds of monkeys
+screech shrilly in the trees and millions of mosquitoes hum steadily
+within an inch or two of one's ears. All manner of animal cries are
+heard in the forest and the hippos blow loudly as they rise to the
+surface to breathe. As a matter of fact, the noise at midnight in the
+forest, when every beast, bird and insect is busy hunting for food, is
+greater than at any other time, and at midday only, one enjoys
+comparative quiet when all the animal kingdom is asleep.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img065" id="img065" ></a><img src="images/img065.jpg" width='620' height='367' alt="THE AMERICAN MISSION HOUSE AT LEOPOLDVILLE." />
+<br /><b>THE AMERICAN MISSION HOUSE AT LEOPOLDVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>One evening I went ashore with Chikaia for a stroll on the beach,
+carrying only a gun. We soon found a number of ducks and as they had
+never been fired at before probably, they were not scared away by the
+noise of the gun, but kept wheeling round and round overhead affording
+very easy shots. It would indeed have been easy to shoot them all. There
+was, however, no reason to do so and having collected a couple or two to
+make a welcome change from the daily goat of the steamer, we started
+back when a fine antelope-cheval rushed from the wood across the sandy
+beach towards the water. Chikaia at once became very excited and wished
+me to fire, but it was useless, as the beast was more than a hundred
+yards away. It was satisfactory to find the boy was a keen sportsman,
+even though he did not appreciate the different capacities of a gun and
+a rifle. However, I made a mental note never to go, even for a casual
+stroll in Africa, without both weapons.</p>
+
+<p>On returning to the ship, we hear that the Captain's boy has killed a
+hippo and that dozens of others are waiting to be shot. We therefore
+determine to try some shooting by moonlight and Chikaia is delighted
+when he sees the <i>gras</i> as he calls my Lee-Metford come out of its case.
+It is a beautiful night with clear, cool air. Streams of silver flow
+from the moon on the water, while the palms tower high with majestic
+crowns. Here we are in the very midst of real nature and yet again it
+unpleasantly recalls the scenery of a theatre. It is indeed
+extraordinary with what accuracy scenic artists construct tropical
+scenes. The surroundings tend to make one sentimental and regret that
+this veritable garden of Eden should be exploited to make billiard balls
+and rubber tyres for automobiles and bicycles. The native also, instead
+of hunting elephant and hippos, eating his fill and sleeping, and eating
+again and sleeping again until the carcase has disappeared and then
+hunting again, now has to collect rubber juice and cut wood for an ugly
+looking steam flat. Such however, is civilisation in the Congo.</p>
+
+<p>Spoor of elephants and hippos abound and the grunt of the latter can
+frequently be heard, but they are not sitting up on their haunches
+waiting to be shot. The clear, shrill chirp of the sentry bird is indeed
+warning the big beasts that something strange is moving and we shall
+have to lie still for a long while probably before getting a chance at
+the great heads as they are raised from the water.</p>
+
+<p>After a walk of about a mile, we arrive at the place where the captain's
+boy was supposed to have killed the hippo. The truth was he had <i>fired
+at</i> a beast who, as the spoor clearly showed, had walked calmly into the
+river and not a trace of blood could be seen. After a time, with
+practice perhaps, one will be able to gauge the truth from an ordinary
+Congo statement.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we reach the mouth of the Kasai, a large tributary which drains
+much of the Equatorial District of the Congo. Here is a State Post,
+Kwamouth, with a few well constructed houses and a Catholic Mission
+where pretty walking sticks with ivory handles can be purchased and
+where the Fathers make a few cigars from Congo tobacco which are not at
+all bad smoking. A little further up the river, is the deserted Catholic
+Mission of St. Marie which has evidently been at one time well arranged
+with a large manioc plantation and garden. Here however, the Sleeping
+Sickness appeared and the mortality was so heavy that the place was
+abandoned. The disease had no doubt existed before, but it was this
+terrible epidemic which first attracted the serious notice of Europeans.</p>
+
+<p>It is becoming clear that there are a great number of nationalities
+represented in the Congo. Most of the political and military
+appointments are held by Belgians, but there are many Italian military
+officers also. Nearly all the marine are Scandinavians and the language
+of the river is therefore, chiefly English, although every State
+official must speak a certain amount of French. A few Germans also hold
+appointments, and the trading houses are run chiefly by English and
+Dutch, while there are missionaries of several nationalities. In the
+army, orders are given in French, but on the ships and in the stations,
+the native is commanded in a kind of jargon based on the Bangala
+dialect. The Danish captain of a Congo steamer thus as a rule, speaks,
+besides his own language, English, French and Bangala and can make
+himself understood in all.</p>
+
+<p>On pay day, rolls of brass wire are cut up into mitakos, which become
+longer the higher one travels up the river, this arrangement having been
+introduced by Stanley and never altered. Here the mitako is 28
+centimetres long and it is worth 5 cents, while at Basoko it is 40
+centimetres long and worth 10 cents. The native crew are paid three
+mitakos for their food per day which would purchase twice as much
+kwanga as they could possibly eat. The capitas and wheelman are also
+paid monthly wages which vary with the nature of their work.</p>
+
+<p>By July 28th we have passed through the Channel into a portion of the
+river which is very wide and has the appearance of a great lake studded
+with islands. The banks are invisible, for the country here is
+absolutely flat and continues so for many hundreds of miles until the
+Province Orientale is reached. Between these islands, which are usually
+well wooded, we pass slowly up the river, for the current is still
+strong although the surface of the water appears absolutely still and
+the light glares as from a mirror. Some of the islands are however, only
+covered with grass and a herd of buffaloes on one come charging down to
+the river to drink. Unfortunately one of the passengers fires a kind of
+saloon rifle, which might possibly have killed a rabbit at twenty yards,
+and frightens them back. This is a great pity, for if we had had time,
+we could easily have bagged one or two and had some fresh beef for
+dinner.</p>
+
+<p>At midday on the 29th we reach Mopolenga and stop for wood. The land in
+the neighbourhood is well cultivated and manioc, sweet potatoes, bananas
+and pineapples flourish. The manioc plant has a green stem, reddish
+branches and green leaves arranged in clusters of six which turn
+downwards forming the shape of a parasol, evidently a popular, as it is
+an appropriate, pattern for vegetable life in this hot country. The root
+of the manioc yields the flour, which is made into kwanga and unless it
+is well boiled, is supposed to be very injurious. The animals here
+consist chiefly of monkeys, parrots and finches, but many ducks fly from
+a swamp near the water.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon we reach Bolobo, the head quarters of the Baptist
+Mission, which is presided over by Mr. Grenfell, a missionary who has
+resided for over twenty years in the Congo. He has taught the natives to
+make bricks and build houses and has erected a Mission Hall, a hospital
+and a printing house. The mission enclosure is well laid out with mango
+trees and other useful fruits and many fat ducks and fowls pass a
+contented existence there. Unfortunately Mr. Grenfell was not at home,
+but we were fortunate in finding Mr. Scrivener, another missionary, who
+has resided some years in Africa. He stated that the natives were
+emigrating from the District of Lake Leopold, which lies behind Bolobo
+and is Domain Land, because they were forced to collect rubber and were
+flogged if they refused. He had never himself seen a native who had been
+ill treated, but had been told so by natives. Asked whether the people
+were ever mutilated, Mr. Scrivener looked very surprised and answered
+&quot;Oh no, there is nothing of that kind now!&quot;;</p>
+
+<p>Bolobo is very populous and many natives flocked down to the beach
+immediately the steamer arrived and at once held an outdoor market on
+the beach selling manioc, fish, clothes, pots of various kinds and other
+articles to the crew and passengers. A Congo flat fish of the perch
+family is found here, smoke dried and sold for food and is very good
+eating indeed.</p>
+
+<p>Two of the crew were &laquo;chicotted&raquo; to-day by order of the captain. One had
+attacked another boy with a knife and wounded him and the other had
+stolen, and then falsely blamed another. The <i>chicotte</i> is a plain
+strip of hippo hide and the punishment was administered publicly by the
+capita on the bridge of the steamer and did not appear to be more
+painful than an ordinary birching at a public school.</p>
+
+<p>At 10 p.m. we decide to take the big iron boat of the steamer and go
+hunting. The natives are exceedingly skilful and know all the likely
+places for hippo. They first paddle hard up stream and having arrived at
+the hunting ground allow the boat to drift down with the current in
+perfect silence. It is clear moonlight, but it is necessary to cover the
+fore sight of the rifle with white paper in order to see it clearly.
+After a time, up rises a great head with a great pant and there is just
+time for a shot before it sinks again. Hippos frequent shallow water and
+are indifferent swimmers. They walk about on the bottom and rise at
+intervals to breathe. It is thus impossible to know in which direction a
+beast will next appear or whether he will come up under the boat and
+capsize it. This night there were great numbers and we had excellent
+sport. One shot in the head is sufficient to kill a hippo which then
+sinks and the body does not rise again for some hours. One unfortunate
+animal was however, shot in the back and rearing straight up on his hind
+legs rushed for some yards in that attitude until a second shot in the
+head put him out of his misery.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we reach Lukolela, a Wood Post and telegraph station. The line
+runs along the bank all the way from Leopoldville to Coquilhatville and
+was very difficult to erect. A space had to be cleared in the forest
+nearly two hundred feet wide and the line erected in the centre on iron
+posts, so that any falling trees would not destroy it. At first, the
+elephants strongly resented these novel posts and frequently knocked
+them down as easily as if they had been nine pins, but have since become
+used to them. At Lukolela there is excellent teak wood which is
+fashioned into doors and windows and shipped to various places ready for
+building. The nights are quite cool, although we are near the Equator
+and the heat in the day time is not nearly as oppressive as it is at
+Aden or Shanghai in the summer. Cultivation is much more advanced here
+than in the lower Congo and the physique of the natives is remarkably
+fine.</p>
+
+<p>The navigation of the river here becomes very difficult, for the water
+is shallow at this season of the year and there are many sand banks
+which frequently change their position. Charts are therefore,
+practically useless and each skipper has to feel his way each voyage.
+Indeed, the whole time two boys sit on the bows of the vessel with long
+poles sounding the water and shouting out the depth. It is curious that
+when the vessel is travelling in shallow water, the engines at once go
+slow of their own accord. One of the engineers explained that this
+phenomena was produced by the difficulty the wheels experienced in
+dragging away, so to speak, the water from under the ship when there was
+little depth. Still the ships, frequently run on the banks, but as they
+are flat bottomed, are not usually injured. The method of mooring is
+very rudimentary although practical. One of the crew jumps overboard
+with a steel rope, swims ashore and makes it fast to a tree. All of them
+are expert swimmers and seem to enjoy their frequent dips, and as their
+clothes consist of a loin cloth only, they do not require to undress.</p>
+
+<p>On August 1st at sunset we reach Irebu, an exceedingly beautiful place.
+An avenue of palms stretches parallel to the river and about twenty
+yards from it the bank itself being fenced by white wooden rails. This
+leads to a large open square around which are the brick houses of the
+European officers. Beyond, along the river front, are more brick houses,
+the Mess and the Magazines, and gardens are laid out the whole length of
+the town. This is one of the large military training centres, where
+about a dozen officers prepare more than a thousand recruits for the
+Force Publique.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening the place was illuminated by very simple, but effective,
+means. Stakes were driven into the ground and on each was placed a tin
+which presumably had contained condensed milk. These were filled with
+palm oil and pieces of wood to serve as wicks. The mosquitoes here are
+very bad indeed and it is necessary to take quinine every day to
+counteract the effects of their poison.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak next morning most of the troops were exercising in the
+square and their precision and manoeuvring were really marvellous. Any
+European colonel might indeed be proud to hear such a single click as
+his regiment shouldered arms. The officers state that the natives attend
+very carefully all the time for the word of command and act very quickly
+after it is given. The native corporals evidently make good instructors
+and the raw recruit is soon converted into a smart and responsible
+soldier. This military education is certainly the best that could be
+given to a savage; it teaches him punctuality, regularity, obedience and
+collective responsibility; it shows him how to build houses and keep
+them clean and it gives him an idea of justice for he knows he will be
+punished for wrong doing. The soldier therefore soon becomes an
+altogether different person and realises that he is no longer an
+animal-man living wild in the forest, but a soldier-man and a friend of
+the great &laquo;Bulamatadi&raquo; who governs the country. What we may call the
+caste feeling has indeed contributed greatly to civilising the country.
+Anyone who is brought into direct contact with the whites as a soldier,
+a worker in the plantation or on the roads, soon feels that he is
+superior to the wild bushman and then becomes more attached to his new
+master than to his own cousins. It is rather amusing to hear the native
+domestics or &laquo;boys&raquo; who probably rank higher than any other natives on
+the social ladder, speaking of the &laquo;indigenes&raquo; with great contempt as
+though they were quite another and an inferior species. Speaking of
+&laquo;Bulamatadi,&raquo; it may be of interest to state the origin and meaning of
+the term&mdash;it means literally in the native tongue &laquo;one who breaks
+stones&raquo; and was given to Stanley, when he blasted rocks to make roads
+the term being afterwards buried with him on his coffin. Since then it
+has been applied to all officials of the State and is used to connote
+anything and everything connected with the State. Thus the State side of
+the river is Bulamatadi, a State Post is Bulamatadi, a State steamer is
+Bulamatadi, anything indeed belonging to the State is Bulamatadi. White
+men traders and hunters, not State officials, are &laquo;mundellas,&raquo; but the
+native at once has a nick name for everyone which describes his chief
+characteristic. Lord Mountmorres usually wore long hunting boots and was
+named &laquo;big boots&raquo; and as I wore eyeglasses, I became &laquo;double eyes.&raquo;</p>
+
+<p>We left Irebu on August 2nd and at once disturbed many crocodiles and
+hippos, which abound in this district. An unfortunate accident happened
+in the afternoon. One of the crew fell overboard and must have been
+drawn under the stern wheel and struck by a paddle, for he never
+re-appeared and no sign of the poor fellow could be found, although
+diligent search was made for a long time.</p>
+
+<p>Just before sunset a canoe comes alongside and fastens to the ship,
+although it is travelling at full speed. It is indeed wonderful to see
+the way the natives manipulate these narrow dug-outs not two feet wide.
+In this one were three fishermen with some fish which looked like trout
+for sale. At once a great clamouring takes place among the native
+passengers and it soon becomes plain that the chief fisherman was a good
+man of business. Having taken an empty bottle for one fish and a piece
+of cloth for another, he refused more of those articles and demanded
+either salt or mitakos for his goods. In a short time however, he had
+disposed of his cargo and paddled contentedly away.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img077" id="img077" ></a><img src="images/img077.jpg" width='639' height='431' alt="NATIVES OF THE UPPER CONGO." />
+<br /><b>NATIVES OF THE UPPER CONGO.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>The natives are very vain and take much trouble over their personal
+appearance. As their clothes are very simple this is concentrated on
+their tatooage and on their hair dressing. From a hopeless looking
+tangle of black tow a very pretty erection is created by the barbers who
+are of both sexes. Often the hair has five or six separate partings and
+quills or feathers are inserted into the ridges in between. All the
+women here wear a simple piece of cloth as they do in the Lower Congo
+and sometimes a plain leather belt is worn round the waist. The arms and
+legs are bare and covered with plain bangles made of mitakos. The women
+wear no hat of any kind, but the men ape the Europeans and appear in
+old helmets or straw hats. Both sexes are very clean personally, and
+bathe frequently in the river, but never dry themselves afterwards. The
+men keep on their loin cloths, but if they wear also shirts or trousers,
+take these off, while the women bathe in a white linen loin cloth and
+everyone afterwards pulls on his other clothes without drying. Many
+natives rub a red powder into the skin made from cam-wood and thus
+acquire a copper colour, while others paint their faces with various
+stripes of red, yellow or white. On the Congo however, where the natives
+are becoming civilised, this custom seems to be dying out.</p>
+
+<p>On August 3rd we cross the Equator marked by a post on one side of the
+river and the point of an island in the centre. Here used to be a
+settlement, but most of the people have moved higher up. There is still
+a Mission near the place and a good road runs along the bank between
+plantations of bananas and gardens to Coquilhatville which we reach in
+the afternoon.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img081" id="img081" ></a><img src="images/img081.jpg" width='621' height='452' alt="BOTANICAL GARDENS AT EALA." />
+<br /><b>BOTANICAL GARDENS AT EALA.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV" ></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Equator District.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Coquilhatville, the capital of this important District is the largest
+town in the Upper Congo. The roads are formed by bamboos laid in rows,
+upon which sand and mud are placed the whole forming an effective
+pavement for foot passengers and no other is required for there are no
+carriages and only a few horses. All the officers don white uniforms
+with full dress, badges and medals, and together we proceed to make a
+formal call on Captain Stevens, the Commissaire of the District with
+whom is staying Mr. Malfeyt, Commissaire du Roi. Some of the officers
+take their dogs with them, which at once make a furious onslaught on
+the numerous cats of the Commissaire and have to be suppressed. Mgr.
+Derikx places a particularly pugnacious fox-terrier under the basket
+work of his chair the little animal being literally sat upon by the
+dignitary of the Church.</p>
+
+<p>The Residency is a large brick building situated on a low hill and
+raised above the ground, the space beneath being enclosed and
+loop-holed, thus forming a small fort. The gardens are particularly
+pretty and well kept. Beer is handed round and we sit chatting on the
+verandah until Mr. Grenfell, the head of the Baptist Mission, arrives.
+He has travelled up the river in the Mission Steamer from Bolobo and was
+on his way when we stopped at that place. As he has been in the Congo
+for more than twenty years, he knows the country well and thus speaks
+with authority. He thinks the system of Government excellent, but that
+it is administered better in the Lower than the Upper Congo, because
+there are not enough officials in the latter. He is convinced the
+population has greatly decreased on the riverside of the Bangala
+District, and attributes it chiefly to Sleeping Sickness for he cannot
+say if emigration to the French Congo has been extensive or not. No case
+of ill-treatment of natives has come to his notice during the last three
+years, but he thinks the State does not give them enough work to do. He
+has seen natives without hands, but does not believe that any atrocities
+have occurred for many years. Generally speaking, he thinks it would be
+better if the State acquired all the property of the Companies. Although
+he does not know of any definite cases of ill-treatment, he has heard
+reports and thinks there is &laquo;no smoke without fire.&raquo; However, he is
+quite prepared to agree that a very little fire in the Congo makes a
+great deal of smoke. Altogether, Mr. Grenfell spoke very calmly, and is
+evidently not carried away by emotionalism or strong prejudice against
+the State.</p>
+
+<p>At Coquilhatville, as elsewhere in the State, the prisoners are given
+useful work to do. Near by a party were digging a hole by the roadway.
+They were chained together but the chain was so long that it did not
+hamper their movements. Two policemen were on guard, but the whole gang
+were evidently taking matters very easily.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening we dine with the Commissaire and a party of sixteen or
+eighteen, including many of our fellow travellers, Mr. Grenfell and Dr.
+Button, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who is here
+studying the Sleeping Sickness. Everyone we meet who has travelled in
+other countries and also visited the Congo, is astonished at the
+wonderful development of the place. It is indeed becoming more and more
+apparent that the State has gone ahead very fast and that the stress has
+been great, both for Europeans and natives. Probably, now the machine is
+fairly set rolling, it will proceed more steadily in the future.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we decide to leave the <i>Flandre</i> and stay for a week or so at
+Coquilhatville. Commandant Ankstr&ouml;m, the Adjoint Superieur to the
+Commissaire, kindly lends us his house and we at once move in, glad to
+leave the mosquitoes of the river and to sleep in a room once more.
+Everything in the house and garden is scrupulously clean and tidy,
+characteristics which I may add were found in nearly every Post and
+house in the whole country. The sanitary arrangements are the
+perfection of simplicity. There are no drains, but simple receptables
+which are emptied and cleaned every morning while carbolic acid is used
+liberally. This admirable system is carried out in every Post, however
+large or small, and I never once found it unobserved. The natives
+themselves are also very cleanly in their habits, so that although the
+heat is great and decomposition proceeds very rapidly, bad smells are
+absolutely unknown. Near the residency is a well kept farm and the
+mutton tasted particularly nice after the diet of goat on the steamer.</p>
+
+<p>The effect of the climate on my digestion is curious. In Europe all
+forms of starch and sugar give me indigestion and I have therefore to
+avoid bread, potatoes, jam, sugar and kindred substances. Here however,
+I have a craving for these things and never have indigestion. I mention
+this personal trait, because many other travellers in the tropics have
+often stated that they could march on rice and jam for days without
+desiring meat of any kind. No doubt the system is working at, so to
+speak, high pressure, but it is curious that a complete change in one's
+idiosyncrasies should take place even in the first month.</p>
+
+<p>On August 5th the <i>Flandre</i> proceeds up the river, and we bid farewell
+to our travelling companions, who seem to have become old friends in the
+last six weeks. Everyone, is always most kind and courteous, and not
+only gives every information, but also the benefit of his experience,
+and thus affords much valuable assistance. The town of Coquilhatville
+consists of rows of brick houses standing in their own gardens and
+fronting on avenues. It may seem that one insists unnecessarily on the
+fact that the houses are brick in all the towns, a fact which the
+European would accept as a matter of course. The traveller however knows
+that in most tropical countries, wood is usually employed instead, as
+being easier to obtain and work. Indeed in the United States, the
+country seats of even the very wealthy are generally constructed chiefly
+of that substance. Bricks however, are by no means easily made in the
+Congo, for in many places the soil is very sandy and it is therefore
+difficult to make the brick bind. Again, lime is very scarce and all
+manner of substances are used to make mortar. Among these the ant hills
+are much in favour, for it has been observed that these structures which
+are often thirty feet high and in proportion great in diameter, never
+disintegrate in the heaviest rain. When dug out and mixed with sand
+their substance makes an excellent mortar. Again, the shells of oysters,
+which abound in some parts of the river are also used to make mortar
+with good results. The roofs are thatched with palm leaves wherever
+obtainable, and if well constructed are quite water tight. Glass windows
+are not much used, for as much air as possible is desirable and the
+verandahs are so broad that rain rarely enters. The openings are thus
+closed only by shutters or by wire gauze to keep out the numerous
+insects.</p>
+
+<p>Living here is very expensive. The usual money is the mitako, but the
+native likes salt and will sometimes take cloth if he fancies it. He is
+however, very independent, and on one occasion a native refused 14/- in
+cloth for a single duck. Fowls and eggs are about the same price as in
+the West End of London, but the latter are very scarce. Fruit is
+however, cheap, as it is abundant. Near the town is a large coffee and
+cocoa plantation arranged in square fields, separated by avenues of
+palms, which both form grateful shade and yield much palm oil. On each
+field is a large board on which is painted the number of bushes. Papye,
+coeur de boeuf, bananas and pineapples abound.</p>
+
+<p>The system of work in every Post is exactly the same, so that a
+description of it as witnessed in Coquilhatville would equally do for
+every place in the Congo. At 5.30 a.m. reveille and at 6 a.m. roll call
+of all the Europeans and native workers who then, led by a bugler, march
+off to their respective duties. At 11.15 a.m. bugle call and all the
+natives march to the river and bathe. At 11.30 a.m. bathing ceases and
+they march off behind the bugler to dinner and rest. At 2.30 p.m. they
+assemble again and at 5.30 p.m. finish for the day. The native thus
+works eight hours and a half and rests in the hottest portion of the
+day. The workers in the plantations are entirely volunteers and so do
+not come under the 40 hours' rule, which is only applied to those who
+live in the villages and are not in the State service. The women do the
+light work in the plantations and thus fare much better, than when
+forced to do all the work by their husbands, which happens in all the
+villages. It is curious to see them brushing the roads with palm leaves.
+Six or eight women walk abreast and push away the dust and dead leaves
+which are then collected in baskets and thrown into the river.</p>
+
+<p>As our house looks into the square where the Force Publique drill, we
+witness the methods employed. At first the recruit is taught which is
+right and which is left. <i>Droite</i> and up goes the right hand, <i>gauche</i>
+and the left follows. The native corporal, however, has corrupted these
+words into <i>hi hoo</i> so that, as is usual in military commands, no mere
+civilian can possibly understand them. Afterwards when he comes to mount
+guard and relieve sentries, the order <i>pr&eacute;sentez armes!</i> might be
+anything from the sound.</p>
+
+<p>The band practices also close at hand. First the cornet picks out some
+air he has heard, note by note, and like a child who is learning the
+piano, always goes back to the beginning of the piece when he strikes a
+false note. After many trials the whole air is discovered. Then the
+trombones and bass instruments put in the accompaniment also by
+experiment, and in the end the result is really quite good for Africans
+unlike Asiatics, take kindly to European music.</p>
+
+<p>The method of moving heavy weights is necessarily very primitive, for,
+with the exception of a few wheel-barrows, there are no vehicles of any
+kind here. A huge tree trunk was carried into the square one day; pieces
+of wood had been lashed across it about two feet apart throughout its
+length. One or two men on each side of each piece then lifted it and the
+whole eighty or hundred men marched the trunk along with ease at a jog
+trot. It would indeed be impossible to use heavy trolleys in this part
+of the Congo, for the roads are sandy and the wheels would at once sink
+deeply into them.</p>
+
+<p>A walk through the plantation, which extends over some square miles, is
+very pleasant, as the palms spread their leaves across the avenues until
+they nearly touch each other thus forming beautiful shady groves. Ferns
+grow round the stems and the whole is extremely pretty and
+cool-looking. Beyond the plantation is the cemetery for the whites. Each
+grave is covered with bricks and has a wooden cross at the head on which
+is inscribed the name and date of death. The age however, is omitted and
+this is perhaps as well, for the Congo exacts a heavy toll of young
+lives and new comers are often depressed already by the accounts of the
+climate which have reached Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Further on is a forest through which runs a narrow native tract. This
+demonstrates well the extreme indolence of the native. If a small branch
+of a tree falls across the path, he steps over it, if a large one, he
+walks round it. Time is no object, so the length of the road is
+immaterial. No attempt is made to form bridges, for the streams are not
+deep and are easily fordable, nor even to break off the branches of
+trees which obstruct the way. It is easier to stoop and pass beneath.
+The forest paths have indeed been made simply by the pressure of bare
+feet on the soil and undergrowth. A few monkeys and parrots chatter
+overhead and an occasional pigeon coos, but the chief forms of animal
+life here, are thousands of the most lovely butterflies. These are
+coloured to suit the surroundings and are therefore usually of subdued
+tints. Occasionally however, a great insect nearly as large as one's
+hand, flies by exhibiting the most vivid greens, reds, and blues.
+Bananas, rubber plants, palms and acacias crowd each other in the forest
+through which we walk for three or four miles, until we reach a native
+village consisting of a few square huts in a clearing. A handsome
+looking fellow comes up to us, salutes and desires to know if we wish to
+buy anything. Having neither mitakos, salt, nor cloth except the
+pyjamas we are wearing, we cannot deal and leave the man wondering
+probably&mdash;if the native ever does wonder&mdash;why we walked all that
+distance if we did not require anything.</p>
+
+<p>On August 8th we visit the Botanical Gardens at Eala, which is about
+three miles from Coquilhatville. Mr. Pinard, the Director of the
+Gardens, shows us the various plants indigenous and imported which he
+has collected, and although the place has only been formed for three
+years, almost everything which could possibly grow has been planted. The
+soil is sandy, the altitude about 1100 feet above sea level and the
+temperature is about 90&deg; F. Numerous varieties of rubber plants are
+arranged here for experimental purposes, and gutta percha also is slowly
+attaining maturity. Bushes which yield acid, suitable for coagulating
+the milk of the rubber plant, grow alongside. Cotton does not do well
+here owing to the scarcity of rain, but coffee and tea flourish. All the
+palms, many ferns and orchids and nearly every fruit and vegetable,
+European as well as tropical, grow in great profusion while the melons,
+vegetable marrows, beans, peas, potatoes, lettuces, cucumbers and
+tomatoes look healthy. Croton, belladonna and other medicinal herbs are
+cultivated and there are many beautiful flowers, whose use is chiefly
+ornamental. The gardens are of great extent, well laid out and
+beautifully kept, so that it is difficult to believe that four years ago
+this site was wild forest.</p>
+
+<p>Adjoining the gardens is a large farm in which cattle, resembling those
+of the Lower Congo, look well. It is however, unfortunate that the cows
+only give sufficient milk to rear their calves. Horses, asses and pigs
+live healthily and the native sheep thrive, but are very thin. Although
+wheat will not grow, maize is easily raised and the grass, if coarse
+looking, is good for grazing. The farm buildings are kept most
+scrupulously clean, for the slightest neglect would probably occasion an
+epidemic of trichinosis among the pigs.</p>
+
+<p>The villages in the neighbourhood of Coquilhatville seem very populous
+and prosperous. Any morning early whole families can be met&mdash;father,
+mother and children, with bundles of manioc fastened on their backs by
+broad grass fibres&mdash;going to the town. Everywhere the natives seem
+contented and happy. When not working, they sit in the roads and dye
+their skins or have their hair dressed, while the children play around
+with bows and arrows or other pugnacious kind of toys. The wealthy wear
+heavy brass rings extending from the ankle to the knee and the
+discomfort must be very great, but as is proved by the tatouage, the
+natives will bear much pain in order to beautify themselves. Before
+leaving Coquilhatville, we send for the boy Epondo, who was rendered
+famous as an example of an atrocity by Mr. Casement, the late British
+Consul at Boma. Epondo is now employed as a gardener by the Commissaire
+of the District and is always at hand when visitors desire to see him.
+Four inches below the elbow joint of the left arm there are two deeps
+scars, three inches apart, which could certainly have been produced by
+the bite of an animal of about the size of a wild boar. The stump of the
+forearm is covered with irregular scars, such as would remain if the
+hand had become gangrenous and fallen away. It was useless asking him
+questions, as he had already told two distinct stories which have been
+related above.</p>
+
+<p>On August 10th, we leave Coquilhatville and steam down the river to
+Irebu, which we reach after a few hours hot journey. Mr. Jeniaux, the
+Commandant, has spared no pains to make the camp not only beautiful but
+attractive in every way and it has well earned its reputation as one of
+the show places of the Congo. Lord Mountmorres is lodged in a spare
+house used for guests and Lieutenant Hoyer kindly lends me his during
+our stay. The Mess is very comfortably arranged, and the dinner based on
+antelope and wild pig is excellent.</p>
+
+<p>Next day I go hunting with Mr. Hoyer in a canoe propelled by twenty
+paddlers. These at first keep up a kind of chant to the time of the
+paddles which is quite musical and pleasant. As we approach the game
+grounds however, they become quite silent. After travelling up stream
+for about a mile, we land in a kind of bog which is full of a species of
+duck, somewhat resembling a wood-cock. A sergeant of the Force Publique
+acts as guide and hunter, and it soon becomes apparent that the native
+is in the habit of stalking even birds and shooting them sitting. This
+is natural enough for formerly they were armed with bows and arrows, and
+now the army of course use only rifles. Shot guns, therefore, are only
+known to the boys of the white men, some of whom are very good shots.
+The hunter seems quite annoyed because I only shoot at birds on the
+wing, but is delighted when one falls. So far indeed, the only
+enthusiasm a native has shown, has been while hunting after a successful
+shot. The paddlers at once re-enact the scene, put imaginary guns to
+their shoulders give a loud bang and then describe circles with their
+hands to give a dumb show of the bird falling, laughing and shouting
+all the time. They are really just like young children and are easily
+pleased by trifles. After walking some distance the sergeant becomes
+wildly excited and clutches me violently by the arm but makes no noise.
+Looking up I see a large monkey but signify that I will not shoot those
+beasts. He then asks permission to fire his rifle and brings it down
+with a shot through the head. After this we paddle on to the hippo
+ground. After the very first shot at a head fifty yards away, the canoe
+suddenly gives a great lurch and as nearly as possible capsizes. Another
+great beast had evidently chosen that moment to come up just under it
+and if we had not been a heavy load, would undoubtedly have thrown it
+high in the air. As it was, beyond a shaking, no one was damaged and we
+had excellent sport for a few minutes until the animals made for the
+bank and hid themselves in the long grass.</p>
+
+<p>Behind Irebu is a plain, where the grass is really green, the green that
+is only seen in the tropics. Here and there are clumps of palms and
+patches of forest, the whole giving the appearance of a well kept park.
+There are antelope and wild pig here but they are very difficult to
+stalk owing to the open character of the ground. There are also a few
+red-legged partridges and many pigeons so that one always found
+something to shoot.</p>
+
+<p>The native camp here consists of a large square shut off by a wooden
+fence. Inside are large huts in which the soldiers live, and oddly
+enough, they all prefer to have separate establishments, each woman
+preparing the food for her husband. These women also work in the
+plantation when they are not concerned with the business of maternity,
+which judging by the number of children about, must be very seldom. The
+native cemetery is a curious-looking place, for on each grave is placed
+the clothes of the dead one and any other belongings he has. No one
+knows the origin or object of this custom. They are not for the journey
+to the happy hunting ground apparently, for missionaries say they have
+never heard the natives speak of any kind of a future state. It may be
+that these articles are merely to show the wealth of the departed; they
+are however, all broken or torn to shreds, so that no robber should be
+tempted to take them. Many of the tribes are said to eat their dead,
+except those of high position and those who die of infectious diseases,
+and others used to throw the corpses in the river. Some tribes however,
+have a very elaborate funeral with much wailing and lamenting and the
+departed is interred beneath his own hut, which is never occupied again.</p>
+
+<p>At Irebu, the narrow river from Lake Tumba joins the Congo, and from its
+small size is known usually as the canal. The current sometimes flows up
+and sometimes down, according to the height of water in the Congo, but
+it is obvious that the general direction must be down, as many small
+streams flow into the Lake, and all their water is certainly not
+dispersed by evaporation. Many crocodiles pass up and down the canal and
+it would be easy to shoot them from the windows or verandah of my house,
+but it seems to be rather a waste of cartridges which, like most other
+things, must be carried the whole tour, for none can be procured in the
+Congo. I do not therefore, care to run the risk of running short when
+the hunting grounds of Uele are reached.</p>
+
+<p>Sunday is usually a very busy day in Irebu. No work is done, but all
+the Chiefs come in to call on the Commandant, who is evidently regarded
+as a species of parent. Indeed, the nickname of Commandant Jeniaux is
+the native word meaning Father. All the sick are brought in and receive
+treatment; children are vaccinated, and any little native disputes are
+brought before him to settle. These nearly always relate to women. One
+man will complain that his wife has not behaved herself properly at
+home, that she has not prepared his food nicely, or much more rarely,
+that she has run away with another. Sometimes a Chief complains that
+another one has stolen some of his women or goats, and then the other
+side is heard and the judgment pronounced. These are of course, not
+formal trials, and the judgment is more in the shape of advice. It is
+however, always acted upon, for the time being at least. Serious cases
+are left to the Courts, but this institution of friendly palavers is an
+excellent one and establishes confidence and good will among the
+natives. It is here indeed, that the personal character of the white man
+is put to the test. A calm, just, firm rule will win both the love and
+respect of these over-grown children, but an excitable, harsh, uncertain
+temper and manner, will only awaken distrust and hatred. The more
+popular the head of the Station, the easier it is for him to find
+workers in the villages, which in turn affect the general condition of
+the country around. Although the system of work is absolutely uniform
+and every official is tied in a particular groove, yet the whole
+welfare, work, and indeed, appearance of the country and villages, is
+good or bad according to the moral character and personality of the
+chief white man in the neighbourhood. I would therefore, say, with
+however some reserve, that when the natives are discontented and rebel,
+it is not because they dislike the system of Government, but are
+dissatisfied with the man who administers it.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img095" id="img095" ></a><img src="images/img095.jpg" width='629' height='500' alt="NATIVE CHIEFS AT COQUILHATVILLE." />
+<br /><b>NATIVE CHIEFS AT COQUILHATVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>On August 16th, Inspecteur d'Etat Warnant, Commander in-chief of the
+Force Publique, arrives at Irebu. He is on a tour of inspection, and has
+every reason to be satisfied with the efficiency of the troops. Perfect
+discipline and harmony is maintained throughout all ranks and all the
+officers are agreed that the troops are perfectly steady when fighting
+and never show the least sign of cowardice. Many are very good shots and
+their drill certainly leaves nothing to be desired.</p>
+
+<p>On the same day Mr. Joseph Clarke, of the American Baptist Mission at
+Ikoko, calls at Irebu and kindly invites me to his house for a few days.
+This is situated on the banks of Lake Tumba, or Mantumba or Lac N'Tomba,
+whichever you prefer. Lord Mountmorres remains at Irebu, but I leave in
+Mr. Clarke's boat, propelled by twenty four paddlers, and journey along
+the canal, which twists and turns in all directions. Towards sunset we
+land at Boboko where Mr. Clarke buys some ducks and eggs, the price of
+the latter being a table-spoonful of salt for each. He arranges also to
+sell some nails to the Chief. We then cross the canal to Itutu, a branch
+Mission Station conducted by a native who preaches, and is an excellent
+carpenter. Here we sleep, Mr. Clarke making up a bed in the boat, while
+I occupy a mud hut which however, is scrupulously clean.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, after a bathe in the canal, in which the water is like
+warm, weak coffee, we continue our journey to Ngero, a long straggling
+village on the north bank of the Lake. The huts here are oblong and
+strongly constructed of hard cane and mud, the roofs being thatched with
+dried palm leaves closely interlaced. It is necessary to stoop to enter
+them, for the doors are not five feet high, but it is possible to stand
+upright within. There is usually a wood fire burning, but no outlet for
+the smoke, which slowly finds its way through the roof. The rafters
+therefore, are covered with a kind of tar which, undoubtedly, acts as an
+antiseptic, and also keeps away the insects. The mosquitoes indeed, will
+not face wood smoke, but tobacco smoke is useless as a shield against
+their attacks. Both sexes here are practically nude. The men are
+fishermen and the women look after the banana-plantations, crush the
+palm nuts for oil and do the cooking and housework.</p>
+
+<p>Ngero was the village of the Chief Lokolo Longania, who raised a
+rebellion against the State some years ago, and after some trouble was
+captured and hanged. Here we buy some fish and eggs and then go on to
+Ikoko, the crew singing native songs and Christian hymns as they paddle
+along. The Mission house is very prettily situated, and is a wooden
+building, with that very rare luxury in the Congo, glass windows. Here
+we are met by Mrs. Clarke, who has spent many years with her husband in
+Africa. The Mission has a good farm and garden, and since the climate is
+not as bad as in many parts, its inmates enjoy fair health. A large
+wooden building is used as a chapel and school, and near it is a saw pit
+and a carpenter's shop where the boys make furniture and boxes for sale
+at Irebu and other Posts in the neighbourhood, for the furniture of the
+Ikoko Mission is quite famous. The girls all wear plain, blue frocks
+which they make themselves, as well as clothes for sale, and many are
+also quite expert at various kinds of fancy needlework. The business has
+however, decreased lately owing to the decrease in population. The
+Mission bell has been ingeniously fixed in a tree, and it calls to
+school, to work and prayer, as regularly as the bugle in the State
+Posts.</p>
+
+<p>The village of Ikoko consists of groups of huts separated from each
+other by the tall grass, which here is eighteen or twenty feet long, but
+as the ends bend over, not above twelve or fifteen feet high. The people
+seem idle, contented and happy, the chief industry being fishing and
+net-making. Mr. Clarke said the population used to be about 2000 in
+number, but many have died of Sleeping Sickness and some have migrated.
+This is very evident, for a number of huts are deserted, and the weeds
+have grown over them, in some cases entirely blocking the entrances. Out
+of curiosity, we have a rough census taken and find there are 138 men in
+the village on August 19th. Some no doubt are fishing, and allowing for
+these and the women and children, there are probably not more than 1000
+to 1200 people now living in the village. The work these do for the
+State, consists of supplying 600 rations of fish per week to the
+plantation of Bikoro, a ration consisting of a whole, a half, or a
+quarter of a fish according to its size. For this they are paid 600
+mitakos&mdash;or about 23/&mdash;. They also supply bamboos and baskets, but it is
+very plain that if the people worked hard, they would certainly not
+require as long as 40 hours a month to accomplish their tasks. The fish
+are caught in nets made of thin bamboo lashed together by a tough
+creeper, which are arranged in the lake. Sometimes it happens that the
+fishermen are unfortunate and then they buy from their neighbours who
+take advantage of the scarcity value and charge them more than they will
+receive from the State. A village might thus be out of pocket by the
+transaction, but as each one has its turn, probably by the end of the
+year no one has lost or gained.</p>
+
+<p>In the Mission school men, women, and children are learning to read and
+write the native language, and some have mastered also the rudiments of
+arithmetic and French. Some of the classes are held in the school-room
+and others under trees near at hand. An assistant missionary, Mr.
+Whitman, helps Mr. Clarke, while Mrs. Whitman teaches in the school.</p>
+
+<p>On August 20th we start for Bikoro under a threatening sky. It is indeed
+soon apparent that a tornado is crossing the Lake towards us, for great
+banks of dense clouds advancing rapidly from the south west now obscure
+the sun. It would be impossible to travel through the storm, so we turn
+the boat and make for a creek which bounds Ikoko on the east. Only just
+in time, we reach a native hut, as a terrific storm bursts overhead.
+The rain descends in sheets accompanied by vivid green lightning and
+crashes of thunder. Fortunately the roof is water-tight, but the mud
+floor of the hut has worn down below the level of the ground outside and
+soon the water pours through the door and is nine or ten inches deep
+inside. The fire splutters out and the logs float around amid the
+crowing of fowls and the cackling of ducks who are quite contented and
+happy. Our hostess with a baby strapped on her back in the usual native
+fashion, commences to bale out the water with a basket while we sit on
+logs in the darkness and try to keep dry. After about an hour the storm
+passes and we go back to the Mission, the Lake now appearing like a
+small sea.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Clarke lends me a copy of the <i>Memorial concerning conditions in the
+Independent State of the Congo</i> which was presented to the American
+Senate early in 1904. There seem to be a great many curious errors in
+it. It starts with the astounding statement that the Congo Free State
+has a sea board of 400 miles along the Atlantic, whereas a glance at the
+map will show that it is really about a tenth as long. It estimates the
+Force Publique at 30,000 men, rather more than twice its full strength,
+and its author is under the impression that the people may not collect
+the produce of the land or &laquo;barter it for merchandise.&raquo; It is a little
+difficult to understand what the author means here. As a matter of fact,
+the people are trading with each other, all day long and with the white
+travellers whenever they have the opportunity. They sell food, lances,
+native knives and all kinds of curiosities to those who desire them and
+are at perfect liberty to barter away all their property if they wish to
+do so. They may not of course enter the territories of the State or
+Private Companies and take the ivory or rubber, any more than the people
+in Europe may walk on to private land and gather the corn or fruit from
+it for their own use or profit. The native indeed is in the position of
+a farm labourer who gathers the fruits of the soil for his master and is
+paid a wage for so doing. On Sunday I attend service in the chapel. A
+native from Sierra Leone reads a lesson from the Gospel of St. Matthew,
+which has been translated into Bangala and gives a short address on the
+subject afterwards. He is evidently much in earnest and talks with that
+kind of spirit of conviction frequently to be noticed in street
+preachers. Several hymns are sung and then the people pass out, dropping
+their mitakos into the plate as they do so. In the afternoon, we walk
+round the village. Mr. Clarke notices a boy with a malformation of one
+knee and speaks to him. He then explains to me that this is another
+atrocity, for the boy said he had been shot by the soldiers of the State
+when an infant. An examination of the boy however, showed he was
+suffering from a kind of bony tumour. There are several chiefs in Ikoko
+and one of them also practises as a doctor. He has cleared a space about
+ten feet in diameter and enclosed it for a consulting room, while an
+inner chamber, still more closely surrounded, is the secret place where
+the infusions are made and the charms and fetishes consulted. Although
+many of the drugs used, are efficacious or not, according to the faith
+of the patient, as in civilised countries, yet the white people
+constantly tell of apparently wonderful cures by native doctors, and it
+is certain that the people at present prefer to be treated by those of
+their own colour. There is also an old lady in Ikoko, the widow of a
+chief, who is reported to be very clever as a healer. This old person
+has European features but has an unpleasant expression. The native women
+wear nothing but a thin belt with a small piece of cloth attached but
+they are covered with brass rings, and the principle wife of an
+important chief here was wearing a necklet of solid brass which must
+have weighed thirty or forty pounds. This was fixed on and had to be
+worn night and day.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img103" id="img103" ></a><img src="images/img103.jpg" width='643' height='371' alt="THE FARM AT EALA." />
+<br /><b>THE FARM AT EALA.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>In spite however, of clever doctors, the men do not live to be much over
+forty years of age. Perhaps they have too many wives for there are far
+more old women than men. On the other hand, as there must be two or
+three women to each man, it is only natural to find more of the former
+at any given age. The infants are not weaned for three or four years and
+during that period the woman it is said refuses to lie with her husband.
+Another wife therefore, cohabits with the man while the first rears her
+child. Polygamy is thus a custom which the missionaries find very
+difficult to change. The State however, refuses to recognise more than
+one wife and many of the soldiers are legitimately married by the
+officials qualified to perform that office.</p>
+
+<p>Much palm wine is consumed by the natives for its manufacture is very
+simple. A gourd is tied to an upper branch of a palm which is then
+tapped and the sap drops into the vessel. If this is left all night,
+fermentation takes place without artificial aid, and at midday a kind of
+highly scented alcoholic cider is produced which however, is acid and
+undrinkable by the evening. This natural wine must therefore, be drunk
+on the day of fermentation and does not improve on keeping.</p>
+
+<p>What a useful tree the palm is! Its trunk, branches and leaves are fine
+building materials; its matting forms beds and furniture; its oil gives
+light, acts as butter or lard for cooking, makes soap when mixed with
+banana juice or an alkali, and indeed, can be used for all the purposes
+of oil; it forms wine, and the heart of the plant is most excellent
+eating as a salad. Therefore given meat, the palm tree and the banana,
+and a town can be built and its inhabitants fed. Both sexes smoke a
+great deal of tobacco and also Indian hemp, which latter has however,
+been found so injurious that it is illegal to grow the plant but the
+native tobacco is not at all unpleasant when smoked in a pipe.</p>
+
+<p>On August 22nd we take a trip up a small river to the East of Ikoko
+which winds through dense forest and is evidently full of fish, for at
+intervals, barricades are erected which stretch right across the river,
+with the exception of a small space to allow canoes to go up and down.
+In the middle or one side however, an opening is left which can be
+closed by lowering one of the bamboo nets heavily weighted, vertically
+down. Platforms are erected ten or twelve feet high to raise or lower
+these nets and the whole structure is ingeniously and strongly put
+together. The fish are thus allowed to swim up and are then enclosed in
+a section of the river, when they are easily caught in baskets. All the
+riverside population engages in fishing. On the way I shot a toucan,
+which must have weighed ten or twelve pounds, with number five shot
+which happened to be in the gun at the time. The bird however, was hit
+in the head and breast. The natives at once plucked it and having
+scarcely warmed it at the fire greedily eat it.</p>
+
+<p>At a village called Bokoto a boy was brought to me with his right hand
+missing, for I was very anxious to see an original of the photos which
+are so common in England. I was indeed beginning to despair of finding
+one at all for most of the white men had never seen a case, none of the
+natives understood what I wished and hitherto no missionary knew where
+one was to be found. Here however, was a boy with his right hand missing
+and it had evidently been removed by a sharp instrument, but not I think
+by a surgeon, for the scars were not such as follow amputation at the
+wrist joint. Mr. Clarke acted as interpreter and the following
+conversation took place.</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;When was this done?</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;During the rubber war when the boy was an infant.</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;Who did it?</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;The soldiers who came from Bofiji.</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;Why did they come?</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;Because the natives had not collected rubber.</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;Where did this take place?</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;In the country behind Bikoro and the mother was killed at the same
+time as she was carrying away her infant.</p>
+
+<p>Neither the date nor the age of the boy is known, but he appears to be
+12 or 13 years of age and his name is Imputela. Although therefore, no
+proof can be adduced, for the child of course remembers nothing and only
+knows what he has been told, there is a possibility that a native
+soldier may have cut off his hand. On the other hand, it may have been
+injured or cut by a native chief. I mention this case at length, because
+it was the only one I ever found in a tour of several thousand miles in
+the interior of the Congo State, although everyone knew I was very
+anxious to see such cases. On our way back we call at Inkaka another
+fishing village. Behind it a few of the Batoir tribe had temporarily
+settled. They are very savage and uncivilised and lead a wandering life,
+hunting game. Sometimes they act as professional hunters and are
+employed by villagers to find them food. One young fellow was armed
+with a bow and wooden arrows poisoned at the tip and carefully wrapped
+in a leaf. The poison is simply the decomposing matter of dead men or
+animals. As long as this is wet, it is most deadly but loses its
+strength when dried. For this reason only is the tip wrapped in a leaf.
+Death has followed within a few hours of being struck with a poisoned
+arrow and this is only to be expected, for we know how dangerous it is
+for surgeons when they wound themselves during an examination of the
+dead body. On the way home we found a snake in the water and shot it
+just at the very moment it had seized a fish and was holding it in its
+mouth. Just as we were picking this out another similar one appeared and
+this met the same fate. They were bright green in colour and had small
+heads, but one measured 93 and the other 90 inches in length.</p>
+
+<p>On August 23rd we visit Bikoro a large State plantation of coffee, cocoa
+and rubber, situated on the bank of the Lake about eight or nine miles
+from Ikoko. It is conducted by Mr. Monaie, a Swiss gentleman, who has
+had much experience in horticulture. Here nature has been closely
+imitated but improved upon. First the undergrowth was cleared from the
+forest and then the native rubber vines were planted and have commenced
+to climb the trees. These are not tapped until they are ten years old,
+for although it is possible to obtain the rubber milk before, the vines
+are killed or seriously injured if they are cut when too young. Some
+rubber shrubs from Brazil have also been planted, but do not flourish as
+well as the native kind. Altogether more than a 1000 hectares have been
+planted and the various plantations are connected by well kept paths.
+More than three hundred natives are employed and the work in the shade
+of the forest must be very pleasant. They are housed in a series of huts
+in a clearing, which are kept scrupulously clean. There are fifteen or
+twenty soldiers here who act as policemen&mdash;for only the big towns have a
+separate Police force&mdash;and guard the rubber and ivory stores. Gum copal
+is also found in the district in large quantities and in various
+qualities and colours. The brick houses for the two officials face the
+lake and gardens have been laid out which are very neat and tidy, the
+whole place, although much smaller, rivalling even Irebu in beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Next day I return to Irebu in the <i>Florida</i> a small stern wheel steamer,
+and find a welcome mail from home and also a permit to shoot game from
+Boma. This latter is an imposing document of nine articles and gives
+permission to shoot adult male animals but not female if accompanied by
+their young, or, if possible to distinguish them, even if alone. The
+animals named are, <i>hippopotames, baffles, antilopes, gazelles, ibex,
+chevrotains, les divers sangliers, petits singes, outardes, francolains,
+perdreaux, pintades</i> and other game birds. Permission is also given to
+kill &laquo;in a scientific manner&raquo; one elephant in the close season. It will
+thus be seen that the State is determined to protect the wild animals of
+the forest from indiscriminate slaughter and stringent laws regulating
+hunting are decreed from time to time.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img111" id="img111" ></a><img src="images/img111.jpg" width='575' height='394' alt="THE UBANGI RIVER." />
+<br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V" ></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Ubangi River.&mdash;Irebu to Banzyville.</h3>
+
+<p>We leave Irebu on August 29th in the <i>Florida</i> and steam up the river
+Ubangi. The colour of the water at once changes for whereas the Congo
+carries much sand and is brown, the Ubangi carries much clay and is a
+dirty yellow. The banks are densely wooded and in the stream are many
+islands also covered with forest. Lying on patches of sand or on the
+fallen trunks of trees are many crocodiles asleep. There is not much
+sport in shooting them but one which was leisurely swimming up stream
+about fifty yards from the ship, made a sporting shot and was killed
+with a bullet in the heart. As the cabin is small and hot, we arrange to
+sleep on the bridge of the steamer which is almost embedded in trees
+when we tie up to the bank for the night. A tornado bursts about
+midnight, but the dense foliage acts as a protection and very little
+water finds its way into our improvised bedroom.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we stop at Bobanghe, a native Wood-Post, and go ashore. The
+huts here are thatched with grass, for palms seem scarce. Some of the
+men have black beards which they plait into one or two tails, producing
+a curious appearance and while they fish, the women do the work of the
+village and the marketing. Several of them were sitting on logs,
+contentedly puffing tobacco smoke from wooden pipes while they offered
+fish, fruit and vegetables for sale to our crew and native passengers.
+One variety of fish was particularly noticeable; it was coloured like a
+trout, but had a long snout on the dorsal side. We bought one, and it
+proved very good eating. The forest here is full of rubber plants,
+nearly every vine and leaf, when broken, yielding the milky sap which
+dries, or can be coagulated, into rubber.</p>
+
+<p>One day the boy Jean fell overboard, but leisurely undressed in the
+water and swam to the bank, whence he was rescued by the canoe of the
+steamer. He was perfectly calm but Chikaia burst into tears and loudly
+blubbered. Very little indeed is sufficient to arouse emotionalism in
+some-of the natives, who are always laughing or crying, fortunately the
+former more often than the latter.</p>
+
+<p>The banks of the Ubangi descend as a rule, sheer into deep water and are
+often indeed miniature cliffs. No attempt is made to fashion steps and
+the villagers slide down the banks as best they can and thus form a rude
+path to the water. A half dozen men in an hour could make a convenient
+inclined plain or steps, but the native only does what work is
+absolutely necessary in order to live, and although loving ease, will
+not take the trouble to make himself more comfortable. So he climbs
+painfully up the bank every night from his canoe and slides down again
+every morning without attempting to improve the path. The vanity of the
+native however, causes him to take great pains to&mdash;as he thinks&mdash;improve
+his personal appearance. Brass collars and bangles are very uncommon on
+the Ubangi and beads take their place. The women wear short skirts made
+of vegetable fibres plaited, which must take days or weeks to construct.
+These are black or red in colour and are suspended from the waist, but
+as the fibre is somewhat stiff, they project all round like the dress of
+a ballet dancer. These are peculiar to the Ubangi and are rarely worn by
+other tribes. The men wear only loin cloths and often carry a large
+straight knife suspended by a leather belt strapped round the chest.</p>
+
+<p>It is very hot from midday to sunset, but the nights are comparatively
+cool. One afternoon we saw a great number of serpent-birds perched high
+up on a bulbous tree, and, as they are good to eat, stopped to shoot
+some. They were not at all shy and did not depart after several shots
+had been fired, but wheeled round and round as if to discover what was
+the cause of the strange noise. Ball, 3 and 5' shot were equally
+efficacious and more than a dozen fell in a few minutes. These birds
+have a beautiful black and white plumage with a long neck and bill and
+webbed feet and weigh five or six pounds each. The flavour is somewhat
+like ptarmigan and the natives eat them, as usual, without waiting until
+they were properly cooked.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening I took a stroll in the forest and soon found the recent
+spoor of an elephant. Chikaia was just ahead, when he suddenly stopped
+and whispered <i>macat</i> pointing in the air. There was a fine monkey and
+the boy's instinct for such a choice morsel, actually caused him to
+stop, although he knew very well it would have been absurd to fire and
+so frighten the elephant. At one time we must have been within a few
+yards of the beast when a snapping of a twig or some sound disturbed him
+and with a bellow he rushed away crashing through the forest. It is
+curious that while birds are so bold in Africa, ground game is extremely
+shy and most difficult to stalk.</p>
+
+<p>On September 2nd we reach Imese, the first place on the Ubangi where
+there are white men. Mr. Donneaux was the Chef du poste and everything
+was in good order. Rubber vines were being planted in the forest and
+rubber shrubs in the clearings. Coffee was also growing and pineapples
+and other fruits looked well. All the houses are, as usual, of brick
+which are of better quality than on the Congo, as the clay is good and
+very abundant. The native village is about ten minutes' walk distant and
+is arranged in two or three regular streets and not in patches of huts
+dotted down here and there as in the Lake Tumba District. The State
+impost here is one kilogramme of rubber each month from each man for
+which he is paid 40 or 50 centimes. Collecting this amount takes one or
+two days and the rest of the time the native works for himself or not
+as he chooses. Here the people seem more industrious than in most parts,
+many women being engaged in making mats and pottery. The pots are
+fashioned by hand with the aid of a round stone and are so wonderfully
+symmetrical that they resemble those made on a lathe. The clay is
+obtained from the river bed by diving and after the vessel is made, it
+is first dried in the sun and then baked in a wood fire. While still
+hot, it is painted with gum copal which renders it water-tight.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img115" id="img115" ></a><img src="images/img115.jpg" width='660' height='388' alt="YOUNG COFFEE TREES AT COQUILHATVILLE." />
+<br /><b>YOUNG COFFEE TREES AT COQUILHATVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>At dinner we have a dish called &laquo;beefsteak American&raquo; formed apparently
+of very tender, cold meat with green salad and mayonnaise. On asking
+however, we hear it is the raw flesh of goat cut up small. It is
+certainly the best way of eating goat's flesh, for any method of cooking
+seems to extract what little juice it possesses and convert it into a
+substance resembling old leather. The name is curious, for it is neither
+beef nor steak, and is probably as rare in America as Irish stew is in
+Ireland or Welsh rarebit in Wales.</p>
+
+<p>There are some very fine canoes here, very often carved throughout their
+entire length, a favourite device being a crocodile. Two or three very
+large &laquo;tom-toms&raquo; are also in the village. These instruments are carved
+from a solid piece of a tree six or eight feet long, most of the
+interior being extracted through a narrow slit-like aperture two or
+three inches wide and running nearly the length of the tom-tom. The
+result is a hollow instrument, giving one or two different notes when
+struck in different parts which can be heard for many miles. In case of
+war, the whole country side can be quickly aroused, but the &laquo;tom-tom&raquo;
+is also used during peace as a telegraph.</p>
+
+<p>At Imese two soldiers and their future brides came on board for the
+purpose of travelling to Libenge to be married, for only Commissaires of
+Districts and Missionaries can legally join two into one. The send off
+was quite pretty, the happy couples being pelted with flowers as they
+stepped on board, while one friend&mdash;perhaps a kind of best man&mdash;threw
+his cap into the river. The State encourages regular marriages,
+especially among the soldiers. The wife then works in the gardens or
+plantations, while her husband drills, and returns at midday and in the
+evening to cook his food.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we reach Dongo, a village situated on a hill perhaps 200 feet
+high. After looking at flat forest for weeks, this appears a veritable
+mountain and it seems quite a stiff climb up the rough path constructed
+as usual only by the feet of the people who have used it. Mr. Vannini,
+an Italian officer, is constructing a Post here with the aid of some ten
+or fifteen soldiers. Dongo is a very large village containing perhaps
+3000 people and the huts are arranged in streets running parallel to
+each other with their ends towards the river. The physique of the people
+is very good indeed, some of the men being more than six feet in height.
+The women mostly wear copper collars, three inches high and with a
+second horizontal collar attached on the outside. The whole is hammered
+on and must be intensely uncomfortable. A special pillow, consisting of
+a piece of wood hollowed out for the head is necessary, as sleep would
+otherwise be impossible with such a contrivance round the neck. A great
+number of children run about and seem to be well nourished. Some have
+large heads and protruding stomachs, without however, other signs of
+&laquo;rickets.&raquo; Many of the men are painted with yellow stripes, an
+indication that they have killed their man in battle, and these donned
+their fighting clothes of many colours and with shields and spears posed
+to be photographed, dancing around and uttering wild war whoops. A human
+skull partly buried in the middle of a road is evidently a souvenir of
+the terrible orgy which followed some recent encounter. Indeed all the
+people here are cannibals and those killed or captured in war, except
+women and children, are always eaten. When not fighting, the people
+fish, collect rubber, grow kwanga and generally work fairly well and are
+not troublesome. Mr. Vannini, however, evidently thinks it safer to
+erect a high stockade around his house and the huts of the soldiers.
+This is a wise precaution, as only a few months ago four French traders
+were killed and eaten on the opposite bank of the river.</p>
+
+<p>After passing several densely populated villages, one of which extends
+in a straight line for ten miles, we reach Libenge, the capital of the
+Ubangi District. The houses here have been arranged around a square with
+one side open to the river. In one of these we take up our quarters and
+then go for a stroll with Captain Bertrand, the Commissaire of the
+District, and Dr. Rhodain, the medical officer for Ubangi. The latter
+states that he has only seen two cases of sleeping sickness in several
+years' residence and that there is no syphilis, small-pox or
+tuberculosis in the neighbourhood. The people work well here,&mdash;the
+villagers collecting the usual kilogramme per month, while the workers
+in the plantations clear the forest and plant more rubber for future
+use. The hunting here is very good in the dry season. Now however, it is
+necessary to wade in water three feet deep in the forest. Spoor of
+elephant and antelope abound and there are several magnificent eagles
+and hawks overhead.</p>
+
+<p>The chief difficulty here for Europeans is the water question. Although
+much of this necessity is on all sides, it is not of good drinking
+quality and dysentery is therefore common, while bilious fever and
+hematuria are also known.</p>
+
+<p>One night at Libenge as we were playing bridge, the sentry suddenly
+fired and the bullet whistled uncomfortably close by the door of our
+house. The guard turned out very quickly without any fuss and passed at
+the double. A single sharp order was given and then all was quiet again.
+Next day we heard that a thief had penetrated to the rubber store when
+he was seen by the sentry, who fired the alarm, but the man was not
+captured. All the natives here seem anxious to trade. Ladies sell us
+their brass bangles for a tea cup full of salt and their dresses for a
+similar amount. Spears, knives and many other curios are also offered
+for sale some of which have evidently been hastily made since our
+arrival.</p>
+
+<p>We leave Libenge on September 9th and continue our journey in the
+<i>Florida</i>, this being her first trip up the river higher than this point
+for at low water, the rapids above cannot be navigated by steamers at
+all. Now however, the depth is almost at its maximum, and as the boat
+only draws two feet, she can pass over the rocks with great ease. In the
+afternoon we stop at a village and ask for wood, for as there was no
+regular steamer service, there were no organised Wood Posts. The natives
+at first brought down a log or two and demanded payment at an exorbitant
+rate, which the captain refused to give, and it became necessary for our
+crew to go ashore and cut wood themselves. The Chief seemed willing to
+deal fairly, but evidently had little authority over his lazy people.
+Then on again through the tornado, which at this season appears daily
+with great regularity either in the afternoon or at night time. The
+scenery is now changing, for we are approaching the limits of the great
+equatorial forest. Hills, which appear like mountains, after the dead
+level, can be seen in front covered with grass and a few trees.</p>
+
+<p>On September 10th, we reach Songo a small State Post in charge of a
+native from Sierra Leone. Here we pitch our tents in a clearing and
+proceed to re-arrange the baggage, for we shall have now to travel in
+canoes, the river not being navigable for steamers for some distance.
+Immediately above Songo indeed is the first of the Ubangi rapids, the
+water roaring and hissing as it fights its way down and over the rocks.
+Just before bedtime, Chikaia comes with a long face and evidently much
+disturbed and asks for a gun or rifle to protect himself, as the
+<i>indig&egrave;nes</i> are supposed to be very savage here. This of course I
+refuse, and tell him to go to sleep by the fire and not be foolish.
+However, I notice that both my rifle and gun are loaded and carefully
+placed by my bedside. The boys then organise a watch over the baggage,
+taking it in turn to act as sentry. On the opposite side of the river is
+Bangi, the second most important place in the French Congo, prettily
+situated on the side of a hill, and next day we cross in a small canoe.
+The journey is interesting and exciting. Below the rapids are many small
+whirlpools, and the capita of the canoe takes advantage of these to help
+him on his course. Sometimes the water at the upper and sometimes at the
+lower edge of the whirlpool is flowing in the direction he wishes to
+take and with wonderful dexterity, he turns the bow of the canoe towards
+a suitable current. We swing about like a cork and ship a good deal of
+water but arrive without mishap on the other side. We call on Mr.
+Jacques, the Vice Governor General of the French Congo, who kindly
+offers us assistance and a few soldiers to act as sentries and
+interpreters when we camp on the French side of the river. Most of these
+are Senegalese and are smart looking fellows. The natives here affect a
+very elaborate head dress consisting of many coloured beads twisted and
+plaited into their hair, the amount of time and patience required by the
+barbers being enormous.</p>
+
+<p>It appears that the four French traders, who were massacred a few weeks
+ago, had two factories, one close to the river and one further inland.
+In the latter was a large stock of arms and ammunition. These were
+hastily abandoned and the natives then seized them and attacked the
+factory on the river. All four white men were killed and it is feared
+that two were first tied to trees and tortured. A punitive expedition
+has been sent against the tribe who are now armed with these modern
+rifles and the moral of the story is obviously that it is very dangerous
+to permit traders to import and sell arms at all.</p>
+
+<p>One night I was awakened and saw the boys dancing excitedly about the
+fire and in front of my tent. Having asked the matter, Chikaia, whose
+zoological knowledge is very limited, replied <i>il est la petite b&ecirc;te</i>.
+This sounded like mosquitoes so, having tucked in my net more closely, I
+turned round to sleep. A few minutes afterwards, Lord Mountmorres
+appeared shouting with pain and mounting a chair in front of my tent
+rapidly peeled off his clothes. He said his bed was full of great black
+ants which had fixed on his skin and were biting him all over. Millions
+of these pests indeed were on the camping ground but had as yet not
+reached my tent. Hastily pulling on high boots and covering myself from
+head to foot, I cautiously crept out of the tent and found the ground
+black with ants. It was impossible to kill them by stamping about for
+they were simply driven into the soft sand and wriggled out again the
+moment the foot was withdrawn. We were evidently in the line of march of
+a migrating host and were forced to beat a hasty retreat leaving the
+insects in full possession.</p>
+
+<p>There is no drinking water at Songo, so we had to boil and filter that
+from the river. This proved very difficult, for even after allowing it
+to settle and then carefully decanting it, there was so much mud left,
+that the pores of the porcelain candles in the filters frequently became
+blocked. We had therefore to be content with muddy water well boiled. As
+we had a fair amount of baggage, we required sixty or seventy paddlers
+and it was not easy to find so many. At length however, after searching
+on both sides of the river, crews were collected for three large canoes
+and we arranged to continue our journey on September 14th.</p>
+
+<p>The canoes were lifted up the Songo rapids empty, while the baggage was
+carried along the bank. It was then stowed in the boats and having
+taken our places we made a start. The method of propulsion is very
+interesting to watch. The canoes are sixty or seventy feet long and
+three or four wide. In the centre is an awning to shade the white man
+and in front by the bows, a space is left about ten feet long in which
+three pole men work. These use their poles as in punting, except that
+the ends are forked, so that they are enabled to push either against the
+bottom of the river or rocks, or branches of trees on the bank, for the
+canoe keeps close to the shore all the time in order to give the polemen
+an opportunity and also to avoid the swifter current running in the
+centre of the river. In the stern twenty or thirty paddlers sit on the
+sides of the boat and work together, while on the extreme end two or
+three stand up with long paddles to steer. The cook with his fire built
+on a heap of clay in the bottom of the canoe, sits among the paddlers
+and the sentries and baggage tuck themselves in somewhere, for it is
+wonderful how many people and how much baggage these canoes will carry.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after starting we pass the Catholic Mission on the French bank and
+immediately begin to fight a rapid. The paddlers strain every muscle,
+the pole men push with all their strength against rocks and tree trunks
+and the soldiers help by pulling on branches of trees or anything else
+which is fixed. The water whirls past as we creep up inch by inch. At
+one moment gaining, at another losing, the excitement being intense, for
+if once we are conquered by the stream, the canoe will probably be
+broken to pieces on the rocks. At times some of the crew jump out and
+clinging with their feet to the rocks, while up to their middle in the
+torrent, push the boat up with all their strength. At length smooth
+water is reached and on we go quietly for an hour or two, when another
+rapid is reached and the struggle commences again. The work is intensely
+hard and dangerous, but the Sangos are expert boatmen and seem anxious
+to finish their task as soon as possible. In rough water or smooth, the
+crews race along, singing, shouting and encouraging each other to make
+one more effort. After an exciting and tiring day we reach a village and
+having seen the crews rationed, pitch our tents.</p>
+
+<p>On again at 6.30. a.m. in a heavy river mist which however, is soon
+dispersed as the sun rises. The rapids, which at first had the
+excitement of novelty, began to pall for it was tiresome not being able
+to read or sleep without being disturbed by the possibility of a bath in
+a current running, at the rate of perhaps fifteen miles an hour, between
+rocks. Towards sunset we reach the site of Bokanda, a village now
+deserted, for some years ago the Chief with his people migrated across
+the river to the French side. We decide therefore, to sleep in the new
+village and proceed to cross, but are still in mid stream when we see
+the majority of the people running away into the forest behind, the
+women gathering up their children and household utensils, while the men
+followed more leisurely. The Chief however, and a few braves appear on
+the beach with guns and for a moment it looks as though they mean
+mischief. They evidently however think better of it, for we land
+unmolested and send interpreters to say we are hunters and only desire a
+place for our camp and food for our men. The Chief at once advances and
+gives us chickens and eggs while the soldiers pitch the tents in the
+square of the village.</p>
+
+<p>On again at daybreak, the journey being still more tiring, for it is
+impossible to force the canoes heavily laden up some of the cataracts.
+We have therefore to land three times and while the baggage is carried
+along the bank, the empty canoes are hauled up with ropes. At length the
+elephant rapids are safely negotiated and an hour or two afterwards
+Mokoangai is reached but in three long days' hard work, we have ascended
+only about thirty miles of the river.</p>
+
+<p>At Mokoangai is a large plantation and farm and well built houses for
+the one or two white men who live there. Next day I start before
+daybreak hunting. The country is open and hilly, covered generally with
+grass eight or ten feet high. Still there are many places where the
+ground is almost bare and it is an ideal spot for stalking game. After
+walking a few miles in a mist, we see several antelopes and endeavour to
+stalk them. While still nearly a hundred yards away, they commence to
+walk slowly towards cover but it is possible to get a fair side shot and
+one falls heavily hit in the shoulder. Soon after an elephant suddenly
+appears about two hundred yards ahead walking along the crest of a hill.
+Sending the native hunter to pick up the antelope, Chikaia and I follow
+the elephant's spoor for some hours, but do not come up with it or find
+other game. We were now high up on the range of hills behind Mokoangai
+and the view was magnificent. The great river could be seen winding its
+way between the hills covered with the vivid greens only to be found in
+damp tropical countries. Otherwise the picture somewhat recalled
+central Wales with a Wye magnified a hundred times. Chikaia had walked a
+long way carrying a heavy rifle, and now showed signs of fatigue so he
+was encouraged by being allowed to shoot a monkey on the way home.</p>
+
+<p>Next day being Sunday, we rest quietly in the Post and prepare to leave
+next morning in the &laquo;Aia&raquo; which is one of the first launches Stanley
+took to Africa and is therefore, somewhat ancient. Since she is too
+small to carry much baggage, she tows a large open iron boat nearly the
+same size alongside. In this the camp is slowed and the boys and
+soldiers take their places sitting on the bales and cases, and we make a
+start on Monday September 19th for Banzyville. Fortunately there are no
+rapids in this stretch of the river and it is at least possible to stand
+up comfortably in the launch, whereas in the canoes, it was necessary to
+sit still in a long hammock chair for practically twelve hours each day.</p>
+
+<p>The people and villages now change much in appearance for the huts are
+shaped like beehives and are made of frameworks of wood covered with
+grass. The entrance is only about three feet high and the dome of the
+roof perhaps four times that height. In some of them a kind of platform
+is erected which seems to be an attempt to make a two storey building of
+the hut. The women are here either quite nude or wear a small piece of
+cloth or grass below the waist; the men however all have a loin cloth.
+All the people seem to be of fine physique and the proportion of
+children is abnormally high. The first night we stop at a trading post
+of the Dutch Company on the French side of the river and are hospitably
+received by the agents there.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we reach the Catholic Mission of Sainte Famille also on French
+territory. The Fathers have laid out a large plantation and farm;
+horses, cattle, sheep, goats and poultry all doing well. Indeed modern
+American ploughs and carts give the farm quite a home-like appearance.
+Maize, oranges, bananas, pineapples and many vegetables are here in
+abundance. Sleeping Sickness is not known, which immunity is attributed
+by the priests to the fact that the natives have plenty of fresh meat
+and eat little kwanga. Apparently the disease is due to a bacillus. It
+is however, at least possible that the new diet of the civilised native
+may be a predisposing factor. The savage is naturally carnivorous and
+before the advent of the white man, had little to eat but animal flesh.
+Now his chief article of diet in the western parts of the Congo is
+kwanga, which consists chiefly of starch, and he has only a little meat
+and fish. Along the Congo where the native is civilised, there is much
+sleeping sickness, but along the Ubangi where he is more savage, there
+is practically none. The Fathers give us some spirits distilled from the
+papye and pineapple which are very good and beer made from maize which
+is not. They then show us round the grounds and before we leave load us
+with eggs and fresh vegetables which are very acceptable. At sunset we
+tie up to the bank and make a camp. It is wonderful how quickly the
+grass is cut down, the tents erected, fires lighted and dinner cooked,
+for when the native knows he has to perform a certain definite task, he
+works hard, so that he can eat his dinner and get to sleep as soon as
+possible. Chikaia apparently has a fine sense of satire or humour. A
+table was broken and when I asked how it was done, Chikaia instead of
+answering &laquo;it has been done a long time&raquo; as an European servant would,
+went one better and said &laquo;it has always been like that.&raquo; &laquo;I suppose it
+was made so,&raquo; I replied. &laquo;Yes, Sir&raquo; was the answer and there was no more
+to be said.</p>
+
+<p>The banks of the river are here lined with villages and each time we
+stop crowds run to see the steamer, while the Chief comes on board,
+shakes hands solemnly and presents eggs, chicken or a goat. In return we
+hand back a good value in cloth, beads or salt. Mitakos are not seen
+here at all, for beads are used instead. The natives always seemed
+grateful and satisfied with their presents, which was rarely the case on
+the Congo where the people generally grumble even when they receive many
+times the value of the article they sell. We camp at the village of Dru,
+where we find it very difficult to pitch tents owing to the rocky nature
+of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>On September 22nd we reach the Kuangu river where is situated the chief
+post of a French Trading Company. The buildings are as usual of bricks,
+the mortar being made of the shells of river oysters and sand. Soon
+after our arrival, a poor native was brought in whose hand had been
+terribly mangled in a circular saw. We dressed it as carefully as
+possible and fixed it on a splint until he could reach a post with a
+hospital. In the night however, weird chanting was heard and next day we
+discovered that his friends had been exorcising the evil spirits&mdash;i.e.
+the perchloride of mercury in which the hand had been washed&mdash;had torn
+off all the bandages and sent the boy a way in a canoe to avoid the
+white medicine man. The hand will almost certainly fall off and the
+further history of the boy will perhaps be interesting. One of the
+traders, Mr. Constantine, a Swiss, said he had been stationed in the
+interior and had heard no news since January. We are only able to bring
+him up to June, three months behind date. This gentleman has had an
+interesting career. He fought for England in the Matabele war and then
+settled in the Orange Free State where he was commandeered by Cronje and
+forced into the trenches at Magersfontein, but to his own great
+satisfaction was soon taken prisoner by the British and was very well
+treated. He now lives absolutely alone, without a guard of any sort,
+some days' journey from the river and feels quite safe, for the natives
+here look upon a white man as a protection from the Arabs. This Company
+trades in rubber with the natives, paying in beads at the rate of 40
+centimes a kilogramme. It is therefore, unlikely that many natives
+migrate to the French Congo where they receive no more pay for their
+work than in the State, and are besides taxed. The country behind the
+station is flat veldt and only a few small elephants are occasionally
+found. The usual heavy tornado bursts in the afternoon nearly filling
+the launch and boat with water in a very short time. Having bought some
+wine and other stores, from the Company we next day continue up the
+river past many villages all densely populated. The architecture has
+again changed, the huts now being tent shaped and rising to a point in
+the centre which is sometimes ornamented with a pair of antelope horns.
+Some of the villages have plantations and all the inhabitants seem
+desirous to trade, salt being the substance usually demanded in return
+for lances, knives or curios. Indeed, even our own people wish to do a
+little business, and after buying articles from the villagers, try to
+sell them to us at no doubt a greatly enhanced price. The higher one
+travels up the river, the more numerous and densely populated are the
+villages until they extend almost without a break for many miles along
+the banks. Each one supplies us with a <i>bras</i> of wood which is paid for
+with beads. The scenery here in the very centre of Africa is beautiful,
+range after range of hills, not however very high, extending as far as
+the eye can see. These are covered with grass, which near the villages
+is often burnt off, leaving black patches. On these the manioc will be
+planted for two years and then new areas will be cleared in the same
+manner. It is very hot in the day time and very humid, so that it is
+extremely difficult to preserve anything. Stitches rot in leather and
+the soles of boots fall off, guns and rifles have to be oiled carefully
+every day and cigars are completely spoilt in a few hours unless kept in
+tin boxes. Can one wonder therefore that the human system soon breaks
+down in this vapour bath and that sickness is very common in this part.
+There is not much game to be seen from the river but occasionally a
+covey of partridges rises from the grass and comes within gun shot of
+the launch.</p>
+
+<p>The day before we reached Banzyville we found the steamer of the French
+Company and paid a visit to the Director, where we drank to the
+Anglo-French agreement, news of which had just arrived. Every Frenchman
+in Africa is delighted with the gift of territory as every Englishman
+should be with the settlement of so many prickly questions.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img132" id="img132" ></a><img src="images/img132.jpg" width='636' height='410' alt="SANGO NATIVES OF THE UBANGI." />
+<br /><b>SANGO NATIVES OF THE UBANGI.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img133" id="img133" ></a><img src="images/img133.jpg" width='653' height='449' alt="THE UPPER UBANGI." />
+<br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI" ></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Upper Ubangi.&mdash;Banzyville to Yakoma.</h3>
+
+<p>Banzyville has been built on a beautiful site at a double bend of the
+river. Opposite is the French Post of Mobaie and between them roars a
+rapid. The country on each side is hilly, while the soil is rocky, great
+boulders of granite and quartz lying about in isolated grandeur. We
+reach the Post on the morning of September 26th and are met by Captain
+Auita, an Italian, who is the Zone Chief here. The buildings are
+arranged on two sides of a square, the other two being formed by the
+river as it turns to the left, and the open space is covered with gravel
+which makes a welcome change from sand and clay while the house placed
+at our disposal looks particularly inviting after a week of tents and
+the small launch. Everything is wet through and has to be spread out on
+the gravel to dry under nature's great fire. Unfortunately some of the
+skins, which perforce have been left in cases for a week, under water
+one minute and baked in the sun the next, have hopelessly rotted and
+have to be thrown away. Next morning we interviewed numbers of native
+Chiefs who were all very anxious to exchange lances and other
+curiosities for European clothes. All were content with &laquo;Bulamatadi,&raquo;
+although some grumbled at the necessity to find porters and paddlers.</p>
+
+<p>This is evidently one of the most populous districts in the whole Congo,
+for on all sides, both at the river edge and on the hill tops, are large
+villages consisting of tent-shaped huts and &laquo;shimbeks,&raquo; or square open
+sheds, under which the natives sit and sleep most of the day. Besides
+rubber, great quantities of rice are grown here, the plantations
+extending parallel to the river for more than two miles. Here men,
+women, and children are at work and those near the road come forward,
+give a military salute and shake hands, a custom peculiar to this part,
+for hitherto the women have not saluted and only the chiefs offered the
+hand. Many of the people have thin lips and Semitic noses and most are
+well made. As usual, if one meets a husband and wife, the former strolls
+ahead with a spear or stick, while the latter follows carrying a baby
+riding on one of her hips, tied on by her wrap of cloth, and with a
+heavy load of wood or food-stuff on her head. We cross the river in the
+evening and dine with Captain Meilleur at Mobaie. The French villages
+are identical with those on the State side, but the natives are, if
+possible, still more idle.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning much rubber is brought into Banzyville. Strings of natives,
+each with a little basket-full of this substance, march into the square
+and sit down in lines on the gravel. The baskets are then weighed on a
+yard arm and the weights entered in a book by Captain Auita until a
+record of the whole has been made when the chattering throng departs to
+a shed near by where five cooks have been hard at work preparing dinner
+for them. The natives here are paid in cloth at the rate of 50 or 60
+centimes a kilogramme according to the quality of the rubber and
+although each man is supposed to supply only one kilogramme a month some
+of the villages here send in more than a ton in that time.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Fernaka, the second in command, arrived on the 28th after marching
+for thirty days in the interior over unexplored ground. He said it was
+mostly marsh land containing a few villages from which the inhabitants,
+seeing the white man approach with his soldiers, fled into the bush. At
+first indeed the natives are always fearful of the whites, but in a
+short time are willing to trade and soon become very friendly. The
+native, in fact, quickly acquires absolute confidence in Europeans and
+his fear at first is, obviously, only the fear of the unknown. It is
+rather amusing to see the children in villages where few white men have
+penetrated, run shrieking with terror to their mothers when a strange
+looking person, with a white face and clothes appears. At the sound of
+the launch whistle also many children run away. One of the soldiers, a
+sergeant of some years' standing who accompanied Mr. Fernaka on his
+arduous march, unfortunately contracted dysentery and arrived at
+Banzyville only to die. We attend the funeral, the absolute simplicity
+of the ceremony being very impressive. All the troops here, perhaps
+seventy or eighty marched with reversed arms to the cemetery after the
+buglers sounding the Last Post and lined up opposite the grave. The
+order was given to present arms, the coffin was lowered, each person
+present threw a handful of earth into the grave and all was over. Far
+into the night, however, one could hear the mournful dirge the soldiers
+were chanting for their dead comrade. Hunting here is difficult although
+game abounds, the grass being high enough to conceal antelopes and
+everything else except elephants. After a walk through rough country and
+water for six hours without success, I was glad to get into my hammock
+and was jogged back home by perspiring natives, who took turns to carry
+their burden and changed about every ten minutes. Altogether the hammock
+is not comfortable, and it is obviously useless hunting here until the
+grass is burnt. Next day, being very tired and stiff, I pass the time
+looking through <i>Civilisation in Congoland</i> again. Having now visited
+many of the places mentioned in that book, the difficulties which beset
+a writer who publishes a work on a country he has never seen, become
+very apparent. In fact, it gives no more idea of the condition of the
+Congo than a file of the Police News would convey an impression of
+English civilisation. When one has visited some hundreds of villages and
+seen perhaps a million of natives, most of whom seem cheerful and
+contented, one marvels indeed how such absolutely false reports of the
+condition of the country can have originated. On the other hand, it is
+impossible to travel several thousands of miles in the Congo&mdash;especially
+in the unfrequented parts&mdash;without constantly wondering what is the
+extraordinary power which enables a few hundred white men, not only to
+govern as many million blacks, but to open up and develop a country as
+large as the continent of Europe, which a few years ago was absolutely
+unknown.</p>
+
+<p>We can dismiss at once the idea that the native is suppressed by
+military despotism, for the Posts are isolated and the number of troops
+in them merely sufficient to guard property and stores, that is to say,
+to fulfil the duties of policemen in England. At any moment the
+thousands of natives who live in or near the Posts, could overwhelm
+these small forces long before help could arrive from the next
+Government Station, in many cases a week's journey distant. The fact
+that they do not do so, is at least negative evidence that the white men
+do not ill treat the people. There is however, much positive evidence
+that the native has, not only a great respect, but also an affection for
+his new rulers, and it is not difficult to understand the reason, when
+we compare his fate before the advent of the Europeans with his
+condition at present.</p>
+
+<p>In each village was a Chief or Chiefs, freemen and slaves who passed
+their lives hunting and fighting other tribes. The sole property of the
+Chiefs and freemen were their huts, canoes, and slaves, and the rude
+instruments they used in war and hunting. The unfortunate slaves were
+bought and sold, captured in war and were often killed and eaten. One
+slave was worth so many goats, lances, or knives, and one large canoe
+would buy several women. Legislation rested with the Chiefs and trial by
+ordeal was common, but always so arranged that the result could be
+controlled by the judge. This is not the place however, to describe
+these interesting, if horrible practices.</p>
+
+<p>Now at present the people are rich beyond the wildest dreams of their
+ancestors for the value of the property of the great Chiefs has greatly
+increased, since they have dealt with Europeans. Again the Chief of a
+small village containing 1000 men supplies 1000 kilogrammes of rubber
+each month to the State for 50 centimes a kilo. To collect this amount
+takes two or three days; each year therefore the village receives &pound;240
+for collecting a substance of no value at all to the natives whose daily
+routine in the meantime is scarcely affected at all. The natives used
+ivory chiefly to make war horns, but some of the Chiefs had so much that
+they constructed fences of fine points round their mud huts little
+thinking that in the white man's country, those useless tusks would be
+worth a small mountain of salt. Now they exchange them for clothes,
+cloth, salt, and other useful commodities. The lucky owner of a canoe,
+it is true, can no longer buy three or four slaves with it, but he can
+use it to transport produce or to catch fish, for which he is well paid.
+Again compare the lot of the slave in the past with his present
+condition. He was liable to the most terrible fate at any moment; now he
+can enter the army, work in the plantations or remain safely in his
+village and do a few hours' work each month. There is however, another
+force acting which we should hardly expect would affect the mind of a
+savage. He is greatly influenced by a desire to ascend the social
+ladder at the summit of which, is of course, the white man, and anyone
+having direct dealings with him, at once knows himself to be superior to
+the naked cannibal of the forest. The servant, or &laquo;boy,&raquo; of the white
+man, holds a high rank and considers himself to be quite another species
+of man than his cousin, who is still uncivilised. So also the soldiers
+and workers in the plantations, who come into daily contact with the
+officials. All the most intelligent and ambitious natives are thus drawn
+away from their primitive condition of life and become attached to their
+masters, who give them cloth to wear and beads with which to beautify
+themselves. The most important Chiefs are as anxious indeed to appear
+like Europeans, as a prosperous native of Sierra Leone, is to wear
+patent boots and carry a silk umbrella. There is one near here named
+Bayer, a young man of much intelligence and business capacity, who has
+built himself a brick house, dresses like a European, and is a proud man
+when he is asked to smoke a cigar on the verandah of the mess. The
+Chiefs are, however, never asked to eat with the Europeans, a
+distinction which is both necessary and wise.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img139" id="img139" ></a><img src="images/img139.jpg" width='348' height='542' alt="YOUNG SANGO GIRLS AT BANZYVILLE." />
+<br /><b>YOUNG SANGO GIRLS AT BANZYVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>It daily becomes more and more obvious that the white man is greatly
+respected and that his word is absolutely trusted. What he says is true
+and what he promises, he does. The native appears to respect these
+characteristics perhaps all the more because he is so lamentably
+deficient in them himself.</p>
+
+<p>It is indeed the respect caused by moral not physical force which
+enables a few Europeans to govern this great country with success, and
+permits one or two white men to live securely with a few soldiers in an
+isolated Post surrounded by thousands of natives most of whom are
+savage cannibals.</p>
+
+<p>There are, however, many difficulties yet to be surmounted, and among
+them is the arrangement of a satisfactory currency. This was brought
+home forcibly on October 1st when according to weekly custom, the people
+in the villages around brought in food for the Post. Many women appeared
+with large bunches of bananas for which as a rule, they are paid by
+beads. In this prosperous part the heads of the women are already fully
+adorned with beads and most of their household ornaments also, so they
+demanded cloth instead.</p>
+
+<p>The question of the currency is a very difficult one. There is the
+danger of flooding the banks of the Congo with mitakos, and the banks of
+the Ubangi with beads. In other words these articles which function as
+money are not used as rapidly as they are supplied, and a lady whose
+limbs are already weighted with brass rings and whose head is heavy with
+beads, wishes for some other payment. There is a warehouse at each of
+the State Posts in which cloth, clothes, beads, salt, and many other
+commodities likely to be of use to the natives are kept, but it is
+manifestly impossible to give as wages to each individual the particular
+object he desires at the particular moment. The objection to beads and
+mitakos, does not apply to salt and cloth, the former being at once
+consumed, and the latter being worn out in course of time. Nevertheless
+it is not well to have a currency which is continually being formed only
+to be destroyed. The money currency, already existing in the Lower Congo
+will, however, in course of time be extended, but there are still many
+difficulties in the way. Francs and centimes will of course be of no
+use to the natives, unless Stores are still kept at the State Posts at
+which they can buy whatever they wish. This great question is, however,
+occupying the careful attention of the Government, and will no doubt be
+settled as satisfactorily as many others have been which were equally
+difficult.</p>
+
+<p>Sunday is always an interesting day in a State Post, for the Chiefs with
+many followers come in for a friendly chat and to ask advice. October
+2nd was particularly exciting for a new Chief had been elected in a
+village near Banzyville, and great rejoicings consequently followed.
+Singing, shouting, dancing and a general hubbub, went on from morning to
+night, and if the desire to make a noise is any criterion of happiness,
+these people must be the happiest in the world. There are many forms of
+dances; sometimes each one shuffles his legs without moving more than a
+foot or two and then swings his arms, head and body solemnly backwards
+and forwards; sometimes a number will form a ring, and one after the
+other will leap into it and rapidly rotate themselves; but whatever the
+form, all seemed to be keenly excited and to enjoy it thoroughly.</p>
+
+<p>The natives near the Ubangi have a very distinctive tatouage. It
+consists of five elevated knobs of skin which form a straight line
+continuing the line of the nose up the forehead. These are formed by
+making for each knob two parallel incisions in the skin about half an
+inch apart and lifting the flap between. A piece of ivory is then
+inserted under the flap and left in until the wound has healed, the
+result being a knob of skin elevated above the level of the rest of the
+surface. All the tatouage in the Congo consists in raising the skin in
+this manner, but in each district the design is different. Simple
+tatooing by pricking in colours does not appear to be practised at all.</p>
+
+<p>Fishing here is very simple and very effective. Large baskets tapering
+to a point and open at the broad end are fixed by ropes, or rather by
+the strong vines which function as ropes here, just at the top of the
+rapids and the water rushes through with great force. The fish are
+carried into the baskets, but cannot pass through or return against the
+current, and are then simply speared and lifted out. They have firm,
+white flesh and are good eating.</p>
+
+<p>On October 3rd the Chief of the Banzas comes to the Post to call. He is
+a fine, intelligent-looking man and rules his people, who are very
+numerous, admirably. In this part of the Congo, the chieftainship
+descends from father to son, but in some districts the succession passes
+through the family of the wife of the Chief.</p>
+
+<p>Numerous petty Chiefs drop in to the Post at intervals during the day
+and are rather a nuisance, for they are always begging for clothes and
+offering lances and presents in exchange. They do not realise that one
+does not carry a superfluity of clothes when travelling, or that one or
+two lances are quite sufficient to keep as curios. Probably they think
+we are traders for we are not <i>bulamatadi</i>, and no one I believe, has
+ever ascended the Ubangi on a pleasure tour before. The newly-elected
+Chief was very anxious to be given a suit of clothes as he had none and
+wished to make an impression on his new subjects. He described with many
+gestures, that he was elected with much beating of drums, which indeed
+was only too true and said he always intended to remain a great friend
+of the State. After that, of course he had to be given some clothes. The
+system of giving &laquo;tips&raquo; indiscriminately is however, carried much too
+far in the State, and if it is not stopped, will soon prove to be a very
+heavy tax on the white man. Every native demands a tip on every possible
+occasion whether he has done a service or not, and if he has done some
+work and is only paid his due, is as discontented and abusive as a
+cabman who has only received his legal fare.</p>
+
+<p>There are many native thieves all over the Congo&mdash;one of them actually
+penetrated into the house of Captain Auita at midday in bright sunshine
+and stole a spear and a native knife. He was however, soon caught and
+marched off to prison. Trials by ordeal used to be very common among the
+natives. A favourite method was to give a dose of strychnine to a fowl
+and if it died, the accused was guilty, but if it lived, he was
+innocent. The wretched fowl, feeling in any case very ill, walked about
+wondering at the excitement and followed by the complainant shouting
+&laquo;die, die, die, fowl&raquo; and the defendant shouting &laquo;live, live, live,
+fowl.&raquo; The strength of the solution was always arranged by the judge so
+the verdict was known to him beforehand. A curious instrument to take
+the place of a jury, is a nut through which a piece of fibre has been
+passed in such a way, that when it is held vertically, the nut slides up
+and down. By a curious twist of the fibre however, it is possible to
+prevent the nut falling. At the trial, the nut is raised to the top of
+the string and if it stays there, the accused is innocent, but if it
+falls, he is guilty. Here again, the judge can make the machine decide
+either way at his will.</p>
+
+<p>Among the many objectionable insects of the Congo is the &laquo;jigger,&raquo; a
+kind of sand fly which burrows under the skin, usually of a toe, and
+deposits eggs in a sack there. Unless these are removed an abscess
+forms. The natives sit about calmly removing jiggers from each other's
+feet with needles, and show considerable skill in this small operation.
+It is necessary therefore never to move about with bare feet, for the
+boys carry them into every place.</p>
+
+<p>Much ivory comes into the Post at intervals, the points sometimes
+weighing 70 or 80 lbs. each. The State preserves the elephant very
+strictly, and the export duty on tusks above 6 kilos in weight, is 21
+frs. per kilo. Still it is not likely that the Congo will continue to
+yield such large quantities of ivory, for the elephant only bears one
+offspring in three years and the growth of the baby is very slow. There
+is a baby elephant here one year old. He stands about 4 feet, 6 inches
+high, and has no sign of tusks at present. He is fed on rice, milk and
+bananas and is a playful little fellow. A tame ape here fears the
+elephant very much and at his approach at once clings to the native who
+tends him or climbs over his shoulder, so as to place the boy's body
+always between himself and the elephant.</p>
+
+<p>On Monday October 10th we prepare to continue our journey up river. We
+shall now require six or seven canoes, as they are not so large as the
+ones lower down and our crews, servants, escort and camp followers total
+up to nearly two hundred. Captain Auita sends a few State capitas with
+us and Captain Meilleur lends us some French soldiers belonging to the
+1st Senegalese Tirailleurs, a splendid set of fellows, very smart in
+their khaki uniforms. We can, therefore, land with impunity on either
+side of the river, <i>i.e.</i> in the French or the State Congo, and be able
+to communicate with the Chiefs, for it will be rather difficult perhaps
+to feed so many people.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we start amid the most terrific din. Each of the seven canoes
+carries one or two tom-toms and some have also native bells. All the
+capitas and most of the paddlers shout orders to each other which no one
+regards, even if they hear them, while the friends of the paddlers howl
+farewells from the beach. At length however, the baggage is arranged and
+the little fleet starts in single file, for each canoe hugs the bank.
+Before half an hour had elapsed my canoe struck a rock and stuck on it.
+Fortunately we were not travelling faster than two miles an hour, or a
+hole would have been made in the bottom. As it was, it was necessary for
+half the crew to go overboard, stand on the rock, and lift the canoe
+off. Never was a ship so speedily lightened, and in a few moments we
+were once more afloat.</p>
+
+<p>The river now passes through a kind of gorge not more than half a mile
+wide and continues between hills clad with long grass but after an hour
+or two, it widens out again and the banks become low. The heat is great
+and the unceasing blows on the tom-tom within three feet of one's ears
+are very annoying, but if it is stopped, the crew no longer keep good
+time, and the boat, therefore, travels very slowly. The singing, on the
+other hand, is by no means unpleasant. One of the crew sings a solo, a
+kind of recitative, the words being an extempore criticism, as a rule,
+of the white passenger, and then the whole join in chorus in perfect
+harmony. The music is now wild and weird, now passionate and joyful, but
+always natural. There is nothing of the catch penny type of ditties,
+which become popular in England and America, in these savage African
+songs, nor are they in the least like Chinese or Indian music. The
+instruments are rudimentary; simple zithers, rattles, bells and a kind
+of guitar, but it is probable that all these, except the bells, have
+been introduced by the Europeans or Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>On we creep slowly until we reach the island of Ya which belongs to the
+State. All the other islands, except Bamu, being no man's land. Here we
+land at a large village and while the boys are arranging the camp, we
+see that our party are all fed. The Chiefs are requested to provide
+food, and soon nearly two hundred women appear, each with a wooden
+vessel containing a ration of kwanga, palm oil, salad, bananas,
+plantains, fish, meat, or a general mixture. These they deposit on the
+ground and stand at attention each behind the meal she has prepared. The
+sergeants and capitas distribute the rations among the soldiers and
+paddlers, and at an order of the Chief, the whole crowd disappears into
+the huts. Then we eat our dinner, consisting of the usual chicken and
+eggs, have a game of two-handed bridge and turn in.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly shrieks are heard coming from a hut and we order the sentry to
+discover the cause. He soon appears with one of our paddlers, who states
+that another one stole his ration, and when he endeavoured to get it
+back, beat him severely. We order him therefore more food, and decide to
+investigate the case in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>Next day after giving cloth to the Chiefs in payment for the food, we
+send for the youth who made so much noise in the night. A poleman now
+stated that the boy had stolen his loin cloth and that therefore he had
+beaten him. This story contradicted the other and further native
+evidence complicated the story still more, so after explaining to the
+poleman that he had no right to beat the boy, even if he were one of his
+crew, and that if such a thing occurred again, he would be severely
+punished, we decided to take no further action.</p>
+
+<p>One of the French soldiers now appeared and told a romantic story. He
+had found a long lost blood sister in the village, the mutual
+recognition being confirmed by the tribal marks. Both had been sold as
+slaves when children; he had drifted into the French native army and she
+had married one of the subjects of the State. Now she wished to leave
+her husband and go away with her brother, who was willing to pay
+compensation for her loss if necessary. As this seemed to raise some
+delicate questions, we refused to take any step, except to report the
+matter to the proper authorities.</p>
+
+<p>After these delays, we started up the river, lined on both sides by
+thickly populated villages. About midday an excited crowd stopped us at
+one of these and asked for our help. As everyone shouted at once and
+probably no one told the truth, it was difficult to discover what was
+the matter, but some women were missing from the French Congo and an
+elephant from the State, and the natives on each bank wished the white
+men to punish those on the other. As private travellers, of course we
+could take no action, even if we had wished, and continued on our way
+already two or three hours late. At length at 6 p.m., Zinga is reached,
+a large village with a fine plantation, and here we camp.</p>
+
+<p>Just above the village the rapids are so strong that it is dangerous to
+take the canoes up charged, and it is necessary to carry all the baggage
+for about three miles across country until smooth water is reached
+again. The capitas wished to attempt the ascent with the canoes full,
+for the native dislikes carrying, more than anything else. We explain
+that if it is necessary for the white men, who can swim, to walk, how
+much more necessary is it to carry the baggage, which would at once sink
+if the canoes capsized. However, this did not convince them and
+Europeans who have had accidents on the river say, that although the
+whole crew, who all swim like fishes, go to the assistance of the white
+man when a canoe capsizes, not one will take the trouble to rescue the
+baggage. Probably the native, whose personal property is limited to a
+loin cloth, thinks all other possessions are useless vanities and not
+worth troubling about. The view here is very beautiful, the river taking
+a double bend between hills which are well wooded and traversed by
+mountain torrents of clear water hastening to join the main stream
+roaring in its rocky bed below. Numerous pintades are usually found
+here, the finest game bird for eating in the whole of Africa, and I go
+ahead of the bearers to search for them, but see nothing of interest.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img151" id="img151" ></a><img src="images/img151.jpg" width='641' height='369' alt="THE STATE POST AT DJABIR." />
+<br /><b>THE STATE POST AT DJABIR.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>By 8 a.m. the canoes have all passed the rapids, and are charged again,
+so once more we make a start. Soon another rapid is reached which it is
+impossible to negotiate with the paddles. Some of the crew therefore, go
+overboard and standing on the rocks up to their waists in water,
+literally lift the boat up foot by foot until the top is reached.
+After this the river widens again and the current is not so strong. One
+of the canoes is now reserved as a kitchen and carries the goats,
+chickens and other food. It is interesting to watch Luembo sitting
+smoking his pipe over the fire as he cooks the lunch. Nothing disturbs
+his calm serenity and he goes on philosophically making soup even in the
+roughest water. When lunch is ready we stop by the bank, the kitchen
+comes alongside and the hot, strong soup is very acceptable, for it is
+impossible to eat much in the heat of the day.</p>
+
+<p>At night time we decide to stop at the mouth of the Koto river, where is
+a post of the Trading Company of that name, and the two agents there
+kindly extend hospitality to us. Some of the natives here show well
+marked Semitic features and a few, oddly enough, have eyes shaped like
+the Chinese. They are all ready to bring rations for the paddlers and
+accept payment without comment. Indeed, the native never says &laquo;thank
+you,&raquo; but as he speedily lets you know when he is dissatisfied, silence
+obviously means contentment. The Company has a rubber plantation and a
+well kept farm with cows, pigs and sheep which live healthily here.</p>
+
+<p>The Koto river is almost as large as the continuation of the Ubangi and
+rises far away up north. Passing it we continue ascending between banks,
+on which villages are practically continuous the whole way until we
+reach Gumba, a large village on the French side with a hospitable Chief
+and a mud guest house. In this we store the baggage and arrange to sleep
+on the verandah which has fortunately a water-tight, roof for the almost
+daily tornado happened to be of an unusually violent description. The
+lightning is practically continuous and of a vivid, blinding green
+colour; the thunder sounds as if whole streets have been struck and
+knocked down, while the rain descends like the stream of a shower bath.</p>
+
+<p>The Chief's house in this village is oblong, but at the two ends of the
+roof, spire-like tops are affixed, similar to those on the rest of the
+huts in the village. They are not ornamental nor useful, but interesting
+as marking a native characteristic on a house copied from those in the
+Government Posts.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning it was still raining hard, so we waited in the dry without
+anxiety, as we knew the journey to Yakoma would only take five or six
+hours, but about 10 a.m. having emptied the canoes, which were full of
+water, we arranged the baggage and made a start. Village succeeded
+village, in which were numerous people elaborately decorated with beads
+and paint, but not otherwise covered. All the Chiefs were well disposed
+and presented eggs or chicken, and took the cloth or salt offered in
+return without grumbling. About midday we reached the commencement of
+the Yakoma village, which extends for some miles along the bank. Most of
+the crew were evidently well known here and several lived in the
+village. Their well-meaning friends therefore, jumped on to the canoes
+as they passed or swam out to them and took the paddles and poles from
+their tired comrades. With a greatly augmented company, with the canoes
+dangerously deep in the water, with tom-toms beating, bells ringing,
+bugles sounding and people shouting, we arrived at Yakoma about 5 p.m.
+on October 15th thus completing a voyage along the whole length of the
+Ubangi river.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII" ></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>Yakoma to Djabir.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Yakoma is built on the banks of the Uele just before it joins with the
+Bomu to form the Ubangi. The voyage up that river from its entrance into
+the Congo to its source here occupied seven weeks of which half the
+time, however, was spent in State Posts. Canoe travelling is terribly
+tiring, although one merely sits still in a hammock chair all day, and
+it has not been by any means comfortable camping in the forest during or
+after the daily tornado. Still the trip has been very interesting for
+this is one of the least known parts of the world and the people are
+probably the least civilised.</p>
+
+<p>This experience brought home the fact with something like a shock that
+human nature is much the same everywhere and that if the savage leads
+the life practically of an animal, he is at the same time not very much
+unlike modern civilised man. He does not wear clothes, but he is very
+vain and adorns himself with beads and bangles, his hair dressing
+requiring hours of patient labour. He is often as pleased at being
+photographed as a young fashionable beauty and, if a warrior, is as
+proud of the paint which shows he has killed some one in battle, as a
+soldier is of his medals. He is frankly commercial in his dealings and
+as anxious to say what he thinks will please his guest as the most
+tactful of society's hostesses. He is as keen to win in a canoe race as
+any undergrad in his college boat and is a genuine and true sportsman.
+He is very jealous as a husband and devoted as a father, characteristics
+common both to animals and to the most intellectual of men. He is, as a
+Chief, by no means hard on his subjects although his punishments are
+barbarous and his sense of justice not greatly developed. He eats human
+flesh but not the diseased livers of geese and he prefers his meat
+decomposing as some like their game. He takes no more thought for the
+morrow than many civilised people who live from hand to mouth without
+considering the future and finally he sees the world from his point of
+view and has little desire to discuss that of others. Mr. Van Luttens
+the Chef du Poste kindly meets us and places a house at our disposal. We
+then read our mail, the first news from home since July, and glance
+through the newspapers. The country around Yakoma is flat and as there
+is no sign of forest, the plantation consists of rubber bushes only.
+Much rice is also grown here and at one time a large amount of coffee
+was raised from plants brought from Liberia but these have since died.
+The native coffee, however, does well and is certainly as good as any in
+the world, so it seems to be wiser to cultivate this and to leave
+foreign varieties alone.</p>
+
+<p>This is one of the very few places in the Congo where the cows give
+more milk than is required by their calves, and where butter can be
+made. The farm is well stocked with horses and cattle for breeding
+purposes which function they fulfil very well, the foals and calves
+looking strong and healthy. All the Chiefs in the neighbourhood come and
+call upon us. They are all very rich, powerful and loyal in this
+district and delight in wearing European clothes or uniforms. One of
+them was dressed in an old naval uniform with an antique sword and
+another as a captain in the State service although he had no right to
+wear the uniform of the Force Publique at all. Just opposite Yakoma on
+the opposite bank of the Uele is a village for retired soldiers where
+they have their own gardens and plantations and live a life of ease but
+are not pensioned. The term of service is for three or seven years with
+option of signing for another three years after the long period with
+increased pay and another three years if desired after that. It is not
+at all uncommon to find sergeants who have served ten or twelve years
+and they are always very responsible men.</p>
+
+<p>As usual the people offer us many native articles in return for cloth
+and we add to our already large collection.</p>
+
+<p>As there is no big game near at hand I decide to make a collection of
+small birds, of which there are very many here, with most beautiful
+plumage. Unfortunately I have no smaller shot than 5-1/2 and it is
+difficult to avoid damaging the smaller varieties. However, by firing
+with the full choke barrel at about fifty yards two or three pellets
+almost always hit even the smallest birds. A very good method of
+preserving them is to inject formol into the bodies which at once
+stiffen out and become rigid in any position they are placed. Birds can
+thus be set with the wings extended in a flying position or as if
+roosting, the effect being much prettier than any which can be obtained
+by stuffing. If is however, necessary to arrange them and inject very
+soon after they are dead for if rigor mortis once sets in, it is
+impossible to alter the position assumed by the head and wings. There
+were great numbers of beautiful birds in the plantation and it was easy
+to obtain over a dozen different specimens in less than an hour<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3" ></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>.
+Red-legged partridges are also found here in the rice, but as in Europe
+this variety will not rise and one may walk all day hearing the familiar
+call on all sides and only obtain one or two shots.</p>
+
+<p>On October 19th I had my first attack of fever, which was not severe and
+soon yielded to phenacetin. It was however, rather a disappointment for
+I had taken five grains of quinine regularly every day since arriving in
+the Congo. The fever ran the same course that it used to do in India ten
+years ago but as it only once appeared in England during that period, I
+hoped it had gone for ever. Hundreds of mosquitoes hummed around with
+the ambitious idea presumably of carrying the germs to some other
+unfortunate.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img159" id="img159" ></a><img src="images/img159.jpg" width='640' height='365' alt="THE RIVER NEAR BANZYVILLE." />
+<br /><b>THE RIVER NEAR BANZYVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>As we shall now leave the French frontier and travel altogether in State
+territory we send the Senegalese escort down the river back to their
+station at Mobaie. The sergeant who was in charge was a most responsible
+man and was evidently held in great respect by the Chiefs of the French
+villages through which we passed. One day a Chief was greatly
+disturbed because two men from his village had migrated into State
+territory. Although this is against the law it is apparently not a very
+unusual occurrence. Generally these emigrants have committed some crime
+and are fleeing from justice. One Chief, however, at Banzyville stated
+he had left the State territory because he objected to working rubber
+and had returned because he objected still more to paying the tax in the
+French Congo. It is impossible indeed to say which side gains by this
+emigration but it is very evident that it is not altogether one-sided
+and not great enough to affect seriously the size of the population of
+either the French or Free State Congo.</p>
+
+<p>In Yakoma the people are paid chiefly by beads and salt and it is
+interesting to watch the long string of workers filing to the office of
+the Chef du Poste on Saturday, each one carrying a plate, a tin can or
+some other receptacle in which to receive his wages.</p>
+
+<p>On October 22nd we decide to pack up and move on. The skins of the
+larger birds the toucans, razor-bills and serpent birds are keeping very
+badly but those of the monkeys, leopards and antelopes are in better
+condition. It is however, doubtful if they will last, for to preserve
+them it is necessary to hang them out in the sun every day which is
+obviously impossible when travelling. As a small native war is in
+progress higher up the Uele, Mr. Van Luttens kindly arranges to
+accompany us for the first three days in order to ensure that relays of
+paddlers shall be forthcoming for many of those gentlemen have forsaken
+the wooden blade for the iron lance. We are therefore a large party on
+October 23rd when we leave Yakoma in a drizzling rain, the remains of
+the usual nightly tornado. Although the paddlers wear no clothes and do
+not hesitate to jump into the water at any moment it is curious that
+they dislike rain very much and never work so well as when a hot sun is
+shining. The least diminution of temperature indeed affects them very
+much and they sit drowsily over the fire hugging themselves, being
+aroused to action only with difficulty. We number now about two hundred
+including the thirty soldiers and armed capitas, but as the current is
+not very strong we make good headway through somewhat flat and
+uninteresting country until we arrive at Prekissa, a large village on
+the north bank of the Uele.</p>
+
+<p>Here we were received by the Chief of the Abira tribe, a great potentate
+who sat in a long hammock chair surrounded by courtiers and ministers
+squatting on the ground and holding spears of state on each side of him.
+Having welcomed us he escorted us through the village which is of great
+extent and well arranged. Opposite his square hut or palace is the Guard
+House in which are a few soldiers armed with cap-guns for he has some
+independent authority and the power of life and death in certain limited
+cases. Behind the palace are many rows of round huts close together. Not
+a soul is visible or a sound heard for these are the quarters of the
+wives of the Chief and except the official lady who acts as legal queen
+none are presented to the white men. The present Chief is a keen
+commercial man and understands the advantage of being on good terms with
+the Slate for he has a large rubber plantation and also works metals.
+The blast furnace is most interesting. It is simply a pit about two
+feet wide and deep formed by banking up clay and earth for several feet
+around which has been dried by the great heat of the furnace into a hard
+stony substance. Indeed at first sight the pit looks like a hole dug in
+solid rock. In it is placed iron stone and wood charcoal which is
+lighted and a blast made by several pairs of bellows formed of antelope
+skins. The molten metal is not run off but remains with the slag in the
+pit until it is cool when the latter is chipped away and the shapeless
+mass of iron is ready to be worked into spears and lances by the
+blacksmiths. Probably this method is a very ancient one indeed, and it
+is curious that it should resemble so closely the modern Bessemer
+process for making steel. Having walked through the village we return to
+our camp on the river bank and the Chief presents spears. He then
+proceeds to ask for anything he takes a fancy to in return. We had
+already given him cloth much more valuable than his lances when he
+suddenly demanded tobacco. I gave him the contents of my pouch and he
+then asked for that also. He next asked me to give him my jacket and
+finally wished to buy my cap for two ivory finger rings. To receive a
+present from a Congo chief is thus a very expensive honour. He then sat
+down and smoked while we eat, for it is contrary to custom to ask a
+native to dine at the same table as a white man.</p>
+
+<p>We start again next morning at 6 a.m. The banks of the river are now
+assuming an equatorial appearance for we are in the third degree of
+latitude and palms grow in great profusion but the country is flat and
+uninteresting. About midday we land at Gembele, a large village with an
+extensive plantation. The Chief is a young, good-looking man with
+refined European features and a very gentlemanly manner. He owns a large
+island, many iron and copper mines and is very wealthy. When one was
+introduced to him he pointed with pride to the State medal he was
+wearing round his neck, a medal which is given to all Chiefs of whose
+election or succession the Government approves. An important feature of
+this village is a round enclosure built of trunks of trees and roofed
+with leaves which serves as a Chamber of State wherein discussions take
+place and justice is administered. Gembele only succeeded his father a
+year ago and among other responsibilities he has to take care of
+numerous wives, step mothers and aunts, the legacies of his father and
+uncles. They seem, however, to be well-disciplined for they were sunning
+themselves when we suddenly appeared round a corner but at a wave of the
+hand of the boy of the Chief, they all rushed for cover and not one
+turned round to try and catch a glimpse of the white men. Possibly they
+have peep-holes in the walls of their huts for it would be too much to
+expect them to have no feminine curiosity. Gembele is evidently
+respected by his people but he has a somewhat serious look as though he
+felt the cares of his position heavily. There is a strong rapid opposite
+the village so we allow the canoes to go up empty and enter them again
+above it. It is now intensely hot and progress is slow but we reach the
+village of Sembile before sundown and pitch our tents in a clearing. The
+huts here are still round and the people practically nude but the custom
+of wearing beads has disappeared and very few are painted.</p>
+
+<p>There is a bright moon which acts here as a clock by night as the sun
+does by day. As the latter passes practically straight overhead it is
+astonishingly easy to tell the time within half an hour after a very
+little practice. It is more difficult to use the moon as the point of
+the hour-hand and requires some care. This, however, is the only means
+the sentry has of determining 5 a.m. when we wish to be roused for he
+could not read a watch.</p>
+
+<p>We start again at daylight and ascend the river to Voro where we land
+with all baggage for the rapids here are so strong that it is necessary
+to walk for several miles. We therefore start in a procession of more
+than one hundred people along a narrow foot-path while the crews take up
+the empty canoes. The guide leads and I follow next, hoping to shoot any
+game that may exist in the neighbourhood before it is disturbed by the
+bearers. It is, however, speedily apparent that with the exception of
+birds it will not be possible to see any game at all for the grass is
+very thick and about eight feet high. After a time my gun weighs heavy
+so I give it to a bearer and a moment after two fine pheasants rise a
+few yards away. All around is evidence of game. Great tracts through the
+grass where the stately elephant has passed to drink at the river, spoor
+of buffalo and antelope at every water course and yet not a sign of life
+now for the sun is high up and a hundred bearers are yelling and singing
+close behind. After walking for about two hours we reach forest and
+enter its welcome shade. A small stream prattles cheerfully along under
+the trees and as the path several times passes through it we keep our
+feet comfortably cool. About 2 p.m. we reach a village beautifully
+situated on a slope in the midst of dense forest. This is protected on
+all sides by a strong stockade twelve feet high for leopards abound and
+when game is difficult to find do not hesitate to enter villages and
+carry off people. Here we halt for lunch and then on again through the
+forest full of cuckoo pheasants. These are not much more difficult to
+shoot than hand reared birds at home although they fly higher to clear
+the tall trees. They do not, however, appear to travel very quickly but
+this may be a delusion as it is difficult to judge distance in Africa.
+No other game birds come within range. Late in the afternoon we reach
+Bogosi, a large clean and well arranged village. The Chief is a pleasant
+fellow perfectly willing to sell us food for our party; and monkeys,
+tortoises or anything else we may desire for ourselves. Here we change
+all our paddlers the present ones going back to their villages. As the
+tribe is at war with one higher up the river, Mr. Van Luttens thought it
+might be difficult to obtain paddlers here and so came himself. With his
+aid, however, the difficulty vanished for he arranged with the Chief
+that the paddlers who took us to Djabir should not be called upon to do
+any more work for the State for nine months. That is to say that the
+enforced forty hours a month would work out at six or seven days
+paddling in nine months and as each man was liberally paid in cloth no
+one could possibly say that he was used hardly. Having bathed in the
+swiftly running river we dined in the enclosure which did duty as the
+Council Chamber and then thoroughly tired turned in early.</p>
+
+<p>It was not until 9 a.m. in the morning that we could make a start for
+all the baggage had to be fitted into the canoes and the paddlers
+arranged in their places. The first day with new crews is always a
+trouble but this is never repeated for the native has a good memory and
+every bale, bag, gun and even small articles like books are taken from
+the canoes each evening and put back in identically the same place in
+the morning. This is remarkable when one thinks that some hundreds of
+separate articles have to be placed in one of seven or eight different
+canoes in one particular place.</p>
+
+<p>The river is heavily in flood for this is the end of the wet season and
+the current is very strong indeed. Soon we come to the first rapid and
+one of the men drops his pole overboard at the critical moment. The
+other two, however, hold the canoe up by pressing against the rocks
+while the water whirls past within an inch of the edge of the little
+craft. At a word from the capita one of the paddlers jumps into the
+rushing water, rescues the pole and lands safely with it on the bank,
+fifty or sixty yards below. All the Sangos swim like salmon but cannot
+of course leap up rapids. They however, swim so powerfully that they
+steer clear of the rocks and reach the side even in the swiftest
+current. On we go slowly struggling up rapid after rapid and when it is
+impossible to paddle and pole the canoes against the stream the crew
+stand on the rocks and lift them up. Sometimes the drop is three feet at
+one spot and it is perfectly marvellous how these men can thus stand
+waist deep in the water. Naturally we ship a good deal of water which
+wets everything through and through but the crew take this as a matter
+of course and bale it out at intervals while the boys take care the
+firearms are not injured. The amount of actual work the crew do must be
+enormous yet they never seem fatigued and sing as lustily at the end as
+at the beginning of the day. At length we pass the island of Mutemu and
+seek for a place for a camp. There is not much choice for the forest is
+very dense here and it is necessary in every place to clear the
+undergrowth before the tents can be pitched. Then fires are lighted and
+all are soon asleep.</p>
+
+<p>We start again at daybreak and at once commence the fight with the
+rapids. Soon after a Chief appears in a canoe, and having explained that
+he is at war with a neighbouring tribe hopes it will not inconvenience
+the white man. On being asked why he is fighting he states that he has
+lost two women and thinks they have been stolen. I then told him war was
+a mistake and I hoped he would make peace as soon as possible, at which
+he looked a little surprised and answered that he expected to be
+successful and capture several women as well as men.</p>
+
+<p>The navigation of the Uele at this part of its course is so difficult
+that there are very few villages on its banks for the native who lives
+near a stream hardly ever walks and he will not settle unless he can
+travel by canoe. For this reason there is often no pathway at all
+between villages only a mile or two apart on the river bank. The few
+people there are have probably never seen a white man for as far as one
+can ascertain no one has been up here for ten years. However, where
+there is a village the Chief comes on board and presents a chicken.
+About midday the kitchen canoe paddles by with fire alight and pot
+boiling. Soon after Chikaia shouts: <i>Le cuisinier est tomb&eacute; dans l'eau,</i>
+and a little way ahead is seen a canoe apparently upside down close to
+the bank and twelve or fifteen black heads bobbing up and down in the
+water. Mountmorres is just ahead in his canoe and easily within reach
+but to my surprise his paddlers suddenly turn away from the bank and
+make for mid-stream evidently straining every muscle. Turning round I
+order my crew to pull rapidly to the rescue but to my disgust they also
+turn into mid-stream and take no notice of my command. Having asked
+Chikaia the meaning of this he replied: <i>La petite b&ecirc;te qui mange
+l'homme.</i> Chikaia's knowledge of zoology and French being somewhat
+limited every animal is for him either a &laquo;<i>petite</i>&raquo; or a &laquo;<i>grande
+b&ecirc;te</i>&raquo;. The information was therefore not very valuable for it was
+impossible to imagine what small beast was in the habit of eating
+people. Thinking, however, of a crocodile I took my rifle but Chikaia
+laughed and said: &laquo;<i>Non, non, la petite</i>.&raquo; By this time we were well out
+in mid-stream opposite the kitchen canoe which&mdash;to add to the
+mystery&mdash;was not upset at all. The cook, the crew, the goats and the
+fowls were all, however, in the water. No danger was apparent for the
+crew were swimming at their ease and hoisting the live stock back into
+the canoe. It is useless being astonished at anything in Africa and
+there was obviously nothing to do but sit still while the crew raced
+along as fast as they could paddle. In a few minutes they pulled into
+the bank and there we waited for the kitchen which presently appeared
+with the cook reclining in the arms of one of the crew and moaning: &laquo;<i>Je
+mart, je mort</i>.&raquo; After a rapid examination, however, I could find
+nothing at all the matter. At length we discover the truth. His canoe
+had run into a large hornet's nest hanging from the branch of a tree and
+he had been stung in the head. To avoid further damage, he and the whole
+of the crew not only jumped into the water themselves but threw all the
+live stock overboard as well, for the natives believe that the sting of
+this insect kills and they fear it more than an encounter with a wild
+beast. The cook was therefore in a highly hysterical condition and no
+doubt in considerable pain also although no mark of a sting could be
+discovered, amidst his thick curly black hair. Still I took him into my
+canoe, gave him whisky internally and bathed his head with permanganate
+of potassium and he was quite well next day. After this delay we
+struggle on until just before dark we reached the worst rapid on the
+river the Kandoko Falls, up which the canoes are lifted inch by inch.
+Everything was already wet so the fact that a terrific tornado burst
+before we could pitch the tents added but little to our discomfort.</p>
+
+<p>On again at daybreak and after one or two ineffectual attempts to
+negotiate the last strong rapid on this piece of the river we conquer it
+and reach smooth water. In the course of the morning a canoe intercepts
+us in which is a native dressed as a State capita and armed with a gun.
+He says he has been sent by a white man to tell us not to sound our
+tom-toms as it will attract the hostile tribe and they will attack our
+camp. We ask for the letter for white men never send verbal messages by
+natives and when it was not forthcoming became suspicious that our
+visitor was spying our strength. We told him that we were peaceful
+travellers, that we should beat our tom-toms as much as we liked and
+camp where we wished and that if the tribe attacked us we should defend
+ourselves. Probably our rifles made an impression for we were not
+molested at all during the day and at night camped in the village of the
+hostile tribe. Our paddlers indeed fraternised with the enemy, against
+whom they would have been fighting if they had not been employed by us.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img171" id="img171" ></a><img src="images/img171.jpg" width='322' height='569' alt="THE SULTAN OF DJABIR." />
+<br /><b>THE SULTAN OF DJABIR.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>The usual tornado burst in the night and we did not make a start until
+7 a.m. when we continued up the river and passed several villages before
+2 p.m. when Djabir came in sight. The view of the town from the distance
+is very pretty indeed. In the centre is an old fort with four towers now
+partly demolished and on each side the houses of the officials
+stretching along the river bank. Here we land two hours afterwards and
+feel that at last we shall have a night's rest without fear that our
+habitation will be blown away or soaked with water.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3" ></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Now in the British Museum (Natural History).</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII" ></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>Across Uele.&mdash;Djabir to Ibembo.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Djabir is a disappointing place. Although very imposing from a distance
+it is being rebuilt at present and at close quarters it becomes obvious
+that some of the old houses are in a very bad state of repair. Some
+welcome newspapers meet us here and I am delighted to learn that the
+Government has passed the Licensing Bill and that the Japanese are still
+successful. The Sultan of Djabir sent his brother a young gentleman who
+has been educated and speaks French, to present a small ivory war-horn
+and to demand several times its value in cloth. Afterwards he sold us
+some other articles but, although he received full value for them he
+repented of his bargain next day and demanded them back again. Of course
+we let him take them. The Sultan himself seems to be equally difficult
+to deal with and although the State has given him the rank of Captain in
+the Force Publique and tried to humour him in every way he is not a good
+subject. His village has the usual characteristics with some signs of
+Arab civilisation.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Mountmorres is now anxious to hasten to Bumba for the rest of the
+mail and if necessary to send a special courier to Coquilhatville with a
+cablegram while I arrange to follow more slowly and hunt the country in
+between. He therefore leaves Djabir on October 31st taking only one boy
+and a little baggage. It is a very hot day and at night-time a heavy
+tornado bursts over the Post. I wake up in a pool of water for the roof
+leaks badly and by bad luck just over my bed. Having moved this to a dry
+spot it is possible to sleep but not for long for the mosquito net was
+fixed to the wall where I left it forgetting the little pests. It is now
+a question of bites or water and as the latter seems cooler I replace
+the bed and fixing the roof of the net on the slope so that the heaviest
+part of the shower will run off, pass the rest of the night in
+comparative comfort. It is indeed time the place was rebuilt for at
+present Djabir has a depressing air of former greatness and present
+decay. As there are no elephants near and the antelopes are very small,
+I arrange to leave on November 1st but on starting to repack find many
+of the antelope skins are rotten and order them to be thrown away while
+the native lances and spears are covered with red rust, and have to be
+cleaned, smeared with palm oil and repacked.</p>
+
+<p>I start next morning to cross Uele, but as it is impossible to obtain
+more than thirty five porters some of the baggage has to be left behind.
+The loads are carried here in rather a curious manner. The porters make
+a hand of coarse grass fibres and pass it over the crown of the head
+which is inclined forwards. The band is attached to the bale or box
+which itself rests on the back between the shoulders. Then leaning
+forward the porter, carrying 50 lbs, walks at 3-1/2 miles an hour over
+rough roads for three or four hours with scarcely a stop. Having crossed
+the river the caravan is formed and at once strikes along the path
+through the villages on the opposite bank to Djabir.</p>
+
+<p>We are now on a frequented route and the villages and people show far
+more signs of the influence of the white man than those on the Ubangi.
+The huts are square, thatched with leaves and have verandahs while most
+of the men and many women wear clothes. The tatouage also is here very
+different for the vertical line on the forehead is not seen and a
+horizontal line of small elevations just above the level of the eyes is
+very common; there are however, various other devices on the cheeks and
+the lobes of the ears are sometimes pierced for the insertion of a ring
+of ivory nearly as large as a serviette ring. The natives are very
+polite, every single one giving a salute so that at the end of a long
+village one's arm aches with returning it. Chicken and eggs can be
+bought here for cloth at about the price one pays in an expensive shop
+in London. Some of the natives said nothing and were satisfied while
+others grumbled but did not take back their goods. One man sold nine
+eggs for about 2/- of which only three were fit to eat and demanded 4/-
+for a chicken little larger than a pigeon.</p>
+
+<p>The natives here seem to have been spoilt by the whites who must have
+given them very high prices for food at first, and these have never been
+reduced. Naturally demand and supply affect the price considerably. A
+native refused to sell us a duck at Coquilhatville for 14/-, for ducks
+are rare. On the other hand in remote villages rarely visited by white
+men, the people will sometimes give two chickens for an empty wine
+bottle and would practically sell themselves for salt so fond are they
+of that substance. This they eat alone and relish immensely for the
+native salt is very unpleasant. It is made from water lilies and certain
+forms of grass which are burnt slowly under a fire, the resulting ash
+containing a large quantity of sodium chloride. It is however, mixed
+with sulphur, charcoal and other impurities and to remove these the ash
+is placed in water when the sodium chloride and other soluble salts
+enter into solution. This is then evaporated to dryness in the sun and
+forms native salt.</p>
+
+<p>Once clear of the line of villages which extend for two or three miles,
+the path enters dense forest and the walk becomes pleasant. Palms are
+abundant and the &laquo;parasol&raquo; tree very common. Overhead are pigeons, a few
+ducks and, as usual, thousands of parrots. I shot a few either for the
+larder or for their skins all of which fell in the dense undergrowth.
+Without a retriever these were no doubt difficult to find but it was
+curious that the birds with beautiful feathers and indifferent flesh
+were always picked up while the ducks and pigeons usually could not be
+found. All the porters returned along this path the next day and perhaps
+were then more successful and enjoyed the game which would not be harmed
+by hanging for a day in a tree. The road is a good one being sometimes
+five or six feet wide and most of the marshes and streams are crossed by
+rude wooden bridges formed by trunks of trees laid parallel to each
+other.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img179" id="img179" ></a><img src="images/img179.jpg" width='440' height='605' alt="WARRIORS AT DJABIR." />
+<br /><b>WARRIORS AT DJABIR.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>Most of the way is up a gentle incline for we are now passing over the
+ridge which separates the watersheds of the Ubangi and the Congo. At
+intervals along the road are small clearings in some of which are
+capitas armed with cap-guns to protect the rubber caravans from
+thieves. About midday we reach Kaki-kaki, a clearing in the forest in
+which is a mud house for the use of white men passing through and here I
+call a halt for we have marched about twelve or thirteen miles.</p>
+
+<p>On again next morning at daybreak the path continuing through the
+forest, and as it is quite cold at this hour and the exercise is
+pleasant we march briskly only stopping to shoot occasionally. After
+leaving Kaki-kaki the streams flow south instead of north which shows
+that after fighting our way up rivers for four months we have now
+reached the highest point of our journey and are at length going down
+hill.</p>
+
+<p>It is indeed a great relief to think that instead of struggling up
+rapids, when next we take to canoes we shall be whirled rapidly down
+stream. There is, however, nothing like a mountain or even a
+considerable hill in this part of Uele. After an hour or two the forest
+ends and we cross a plain covered with grass only four to six feet high
+on which clumps of trees and bushes are dotted about. On every side are
+traces of elephant, antelope and wild cattle but the sun is now high on
+his brilliant course and only man is foolish enough to work in the day
+time in Central Africa. It is indeed very hot marching for there is no
+shade and it is necessary to change the gun for the umbrella. In another
+hour we reach the string of villages constituting the territory of the
+Sultan of Enguetra who like the Sultan of Djabir is not a particularly
+good chief. His people, however, receive the porters kindly and give
+them bananas. Then on again under a very fierce sun until the north bank
+of the Likati river is reached. Here we enter a canoe and are rapidly
+paddled down the stream which is only about twenty yards wide, until we
+reach a clearing in the forest in which the Post of Enguetra is being
+built by Lieutenant Gaspard. In a few weeks he has constructed a fine
+brick house of two storeys with a large verandah looking down a natural
+avenue to the river.</p>
+
+<p>At this time of the year&mdash;the early days of November&mdash;the Post is
+practically an island for the river flows on one side and on the other
+three water is standing in the forest to the depth of three or four
+feet. This is no doubt good for the rubber vines but bad for hunting.
+However, I determine to settle here for a week or two and hunt the
+forest and plains about. Next morning herefore I start at 5 a.m. in the
+dark and follow the guide who evidently feels the cold and steps out at
+a good pace. After passing through the plantation we strike into dense
+forest and the walking becomes very difficult. Roots of trees below,
+branches and vines above have to be dodged all the time and it is a
+relief to march along the bed of a stream even if it has two or three
+feet of water in it. It is impossible to see for more than a yard or two
+on each side through the dense undergrowth and the sun and sky are quite
+invisible although patches of lights show that the former is now well
+above the level of the tallest tree. Traces of elephant and antelope
+abound, the former being of small size without points worth having.
+After two hours we reach the plain and find the water nearly six feet
+deep. There is no place about to pitch a tent and it is extremely
+difficult marching in the forest in the night, but the only chance of an
+elephant is to be here an hour or two before daybreak. Indeed it is
+almost impossible to hunt until the water subsides and that means
+waiting for over a month. However there are plenty of small beasts and
+birds so the day was not altogether wasted.</p>
+
+<p>The Congo is undoubtedly the land of exaggerations. Everything here is
+bigger or smaller than any where else. If the elephants are the largest
+in the world the insects are the smallest and Enguetra is especially
+favoured by their attendance. Millions of little beasts fall on one all
+day long. Soup might here be called hexapoda bouillon and a glass of
+wine in a few minutes becomes a tincture of insects. Butterflies are
+especially numerous and are of groat beauty. They are so lazy or sleepy
+that one can nearly always pick them up with one's fingers. Ducks are
+not agile creatures on land but here they waddle slowly up to the
+butterflies and as often as not catch them in their beaks.</p>
+
+<p>The native is a curious mixture of simplicity and cunning He is very
+fond of strong alcohol but does not care much for wine. The mess boy
+here apparently stole some whisky and instead of filling the bottle up
+with water added red wine to the requisite amount. Of course the colour
+led to instant detection and of course he knew nothing about it, but he
+lurched about violently as he waited at dinner and it was obvious the
+new European drink was acting rather forcibly. It is very troublesome to
+have to lock up every bottle when travelling, yet it is absolutely
+necessary. There is, however, I hear a patent lock which can be fixed
+over the cork and is easily fastened to the bottle. This is worth
+remembering.</p>
+
+<p>One day Chikaia slated that the Sultan of Enguetra intended to attack
+the Post that night and if he had done so it might have fared badly
+with us for we were only two white men with perhaps fifteen or twenty
+soldiers. However, a heavy tornado broke and perhaps the warriors
+refused to face the storm for nothing happened. The boys were very
+alarmed and did not hesitate to say so. As the relationship between the
+Sultan and the State was not very satisfactory the report might have
+been true, otherwise it might well have been idle gossip. War had then
+not been declared but the State soon after sent a force to occupy the
+district.</p>
+
+<p>Chikaia, who is a Christian, formed a violent attachment to a woman who
+worked in the plantation here and asked to be allowed to marry her,
+although at the time she appeared to be the wife of a soldier with whom
+she was living. Chikaia, however, said she was not legally married, so
+we investigated the case. The supposed husband swore they were married,
+the woman swore they were not. The man, however, in this case evidently
+lied for he said the ceremony took place at a certain Post and was
+conducted by a certain official. Now only Commissaires of Districts and
+Missionaries can legalise marriages and the official named was neither.
+After representing to Chikaia that the woman did not seem a very
+desirable wife, I gave my permission to his marriage, provided that the
+Catholic Missionaries, to which church he belonged, were willing to
+perform the ceremony for the woman was not a Christian. The woman was
+very pleased and thanked me in the native fashion by at once asking for
+a necklace of beads for a wedding present. The demand for &laquo;tips&raquo; becomes
+sometimes quite humorous. A native girl fell down and cut herself and
+one of the officials dressed the wound until it healed. The parents
+then came and asked for a tip and when the astonished individual
+required to know the reason said that the girl had been every day to
+have her wound attended to and she ought to be paid for it.</p>
+
+<p>One day as I was sitting after lunch half asleep, a green and white
+serpent glided through the open door into my room. It happened that my
+guns were leaning against the opposite wall and I did not fancy jumping
+over the beast, so simply shouted. It then withdrew on to the verandah
+and I followed as quickly as possible with a gun. In the meantime
+Chikaia came running up and gave it several blows on the back with a
+heavy piece of wood. The sentry then appeared and before I could stop
+him cut off its head. The skin was thus spoilt which was a great pity as
+it measured more than ten feet in length.</p>
+
+<p>As it was not easy to procure paddlers at Enguetra I decided to send on
+one of the boys Mavunga with some of the heavy baggage on November 17th
+and to follow him the next day. He was very nervous at the idea of
+travelling alone and wished to borrow a revolver, but this of course I
+refused. It is curious that these coast boys fear the natives of the
+interior so much and still more curious that the presence of a single
+white man at once restores confidence. It is indeed becoming more
+apparent every day that the natives have a very genuine respect and
+admiration for the Europeans and credit them with powers which neither
+they nor any other people possess.</p>
+
+<p>I leave Enguetra on the 18th in a most comfortable canoe with an awning
+so high that it is possible to stand upright, a great luxury in canoe
+travelling. The Likati flows swiftly through dense forests and we glide
+down the rapids very quickly and comfortably. No villages exist along
+the banks and nothing is visible except the forest until we reach
+Kati-kati a clearing in which a mud hut has been erected for the
+convenience of travellers. I went for a stroll in the forest but after
+half an hour was stopped by an unpleasant palpitation of the heart.
+Although the distressing symptom passed away quickly it was obvious it
+might occur again and then I realised for the first time that I was very
+anaemic and that hard exertion would be impossible for some time. This
+was the more annoying for the country around was particularly rich in
+game. We leave at sunrise which is, however, concealed by a thick water
+mist and speed along until we reach Dzamba or Ekwanga-tana close to the
+point where the Likati and Rubi rivers join to form the Itimbiri. Dzamba
+is a transit port where cargoes are transhipped from canoes into a small
+steamer the <i>Milz</i> which plies between it and Buta the capital of Uele.
+As the <i>Milz</i> departed the next day I decided to travel in her and thus
+altered my original plan of descending direct to the Congo. The Rubi is
+about three times as wide as the Likati and also flows through dense
+forest which is only broken here and there by Wood Posts. Although the
+water is high and the current strong the <i>Milz</i> which is a twin-screw
+steamer, travels well and early on the third day we arrive at Buta. The
+Post is being moved and some brick houses have already been built, one
+of which is placed at my disposal. After settling in it I call upon
+Baron de Rennette, the Commissaire of Uele which is a very important
+District for through it runs the path to the Nile and it has frontiers
+both to French and English territories. The Lado Enclave, however, is
+governed separately by a special official.</p>
+
+<p>One now realises fully the extreme difficulty and expense of transport
+across Africa. Take for example a bale of cloth shipped at Brussels and
+addressed to Bomokandi. It is very possible that this will be
+transhipped at Banana into a lighter which will be towed to Matadi;
+secondly it will travel by train to Leopoldville; thirdly by steamer to
+Bumba beyond which point the larger vessels do not run; fourthly by
+small steamer to Ibembo; fifthly by canoe to Dzamba during which journey
+it has to be carried by hand past some rapids; sixthly by the <i>Milz</i> to
+Buta and seventhly by hand to Bomokandi. Every basket of rubber and
+point of ivory exported and every box of food or bale of cloth imported
+is indeed constantly being transhipped and then conveyed by various
+methods a few hundred miles on its journey. The example given is by no
+means an extreme one, and many others could be traced in almost any
+direction. The reason is simple. Although the whole of Central Africa is
+traversed by rivers which eventually flow into the Congo, both the main
+river and its tributaries are in places impossible to navigate owing to
+the rapids. Great efforts are, however, being made to overcome these
+obstructions. Wherever possible railways are being constructed and roads
+made to avoid them the latest great work initiated being the automobile
+road through Uele. It is indeed impossible now to carry by hand the
+great amount of merchandise passing up and down the country, even if the
+natives were willing to undertake the task. This is, however, the very
+work they dislike most and during my visit an immense quantity of
+stores was lying at Buta and could not be forwarded owing to lack of
+porters. The automobile road will change all this, for trains of waggons
+carrying the merchandise will then be quickly and easily towed by road
+engines. Passengers will also be conveyed in a similar manner and it is
+reasonable to prophesy that in five or ten years time it will be
+possible to cross Africa from the Nile to Banana without travelling a
+single mile in canoes or on foot.</p>
+
+<p>At present the difficulty of transport chiefly affects the comfort of
+the officials for their stores of food may be delayed for some weeks and
+although it is possible to live on kwanga, goats and chickens, it is not
+a suitable diet for Europeans. Less difficulty is experienced with the
+exportation, for the rubber and ivory are always travelling down the
+hill towards the mouth of the river. Baron de Rennette fully realises
+how extremely important it is to have good food in this exhausting
+climate and took his native cook to Europe to receive some lessons in
+the culinary art. He has been rewarded for his trouble and now lives
+almost as well as he could at home. Good food, indeed, is almost as
+necessary in Africa as pure water. After a hard day's work in this
+climate it is impossible either to relish or to digest goat's flesh or
+tough chicken and the result is weakness followed by fever, anaemia or
+dysentry. When travelling it is still more difficult to obtain properly
+cooked food, and it was thus especially pleasant to find oneself dining
+off a clean white cloth with clean silver, hot plates and food cooked
+and served in a manner which would have been a credit to a London club.</p>
+
+<p>There is a good path to Bima and Bomokandi and I was thinking of taking
+this ten day's walk when an attack of fever caused me to change my plans
+again. While still at Buta Mgr. Derikx arrived. He was on a tour of his
+diocese and expected to be travelling for a year. I was very pleased to
+see him and was bound to confess that all he had told me of the Congo on
+the voyage out was strictly accurate. Having recovered from the fever
+and on the recommendation of Baron de Bennette, commenced a course of
+arseniate of soda, I left Buta on November 28th in the <i>Milz</i>. The small
+steamer rapidly descended the river for the water was now falling
+rapidly. Many crocodiles had ascended this small river to lay their eggs
+and were lying on sandbanks but we travelled so quickly that it was
+impossible to shoot them. Near Buta is one of the villages constructed
+for and by old soldiers and, like the rest of these institutions, this
+one is very well arranged and kept forming a striking contrast to the
+ordinary native village. It is indeed extraordinary how the savage can
+be changed into a civilised being by a few years of military discipline.</p>
+
+<p>I reach Dzamba again on the 29th and continue the journey in canoe on
+the next day. The current is running swiftly down the Itimbiri and after
+an hour we arrive at a rapid and march through the forest while the
+canoe descends without passengers. The river winds here very much so
+that although the current is very strong it is more than an hour before
+the canoe arrives at the village, which we reached walking, in about
+twenty-minutes. The journey up is very slow and tedious for the baggage
+has to be carried by hand along this short cut through the forest. It
+is therefore proposed to build a light railway to relieve the native of
+this task.</p>
+
+<p>I reach Ibembo on the 30th and am met by Lieutenant Francois, the Chef
+du Poste. It is a large station with a big mess for many travellers are
+continually passing through. On this date three hundred and fifty
+soldiers with their officers were marching through with the object of
+occupying Enguetra and its district until the Sultan becomes a little
+more reasonable. It is very difficult for the troops to avoid ambuscades
+in the forest. They march in a hollow square formation with the women,
+who carry much of the baggage, in the centre. Each soldier carries a
+knife and literally cuts his way through the undergrowth. If the head,
+flanks or rear of the square is attacked the men close up and meet the
+enemy with a steady fire for they always march with the rifle loaded.
+Progress is naturally very slow and the enemy difficult to catch, while
+the chance of being hit by a poisoned arrow or a lance hurled from
+behind a tree is always present. The soldier however, is very plucky and
+well earns his twenty-one cents each day, and the one franc twenty-five
+cents a month which is reserved for him.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img191" id="img191" ></a><img src="images/img191.jpg" width='444' height='561' alt="THE ITIMBIRI RIVER." />
+<br /><b>THE ITIMBIRI RIVER.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>Next day I visit the Catholic Mission of Ibembo and am received by
+Father Benin who is in charge in the absence of Mgr. Derikx. The Mission
+is situated on a plateau about 200 feet high on the opposite bank to the
+Post, but a little lower down the stream and the whole place is
+admirably arranged, the view across the river being especially
+beautiful. Three hundred natives, mostly children, are engaged in the
+plantations and gardens all being dressed in a pretty uniform and
+appearing healthy and happy. There is indeed, very little sickness
+here, for the buildings and grounds are as scrupulously clean as those
+of a State Post. In a well-fitted carpenter's shop the entire furniture
+for the chapel and houses has been made from the wood of old canoes
+which is hard and well-seasoned. The boys also work in ivory, turning
+serviette rings with great accuracy and skill. Four or five brethren and
+five sisters form the staff of the Mission and one of the latter
+superintends the cooking with most happy results.</p>
+
+<p>Next day I walk through the native villages near Ibembo where most of
+the men fish and the women make pots of clay. There are a great number
+of children about and very little sickness. Sunday as usual was market
+day and the people from the neighbourhood brought in kwanga, fish, eggs,
+chicken and three antelopes. Food is sold for mitakos three of which
+will purchase enough kwanga to feed a man and woman for a day. In the
+afternoon a Chief arrives with the not unusual story that a troup of
+elephants have entered and destroyed his plantation of manioc. We
+arrange therefore to start at 4 a.m. next morning on the chance that
+they will repeat their visit, but a heavy tornado in the night renders
+hunting impossible. After spending a pleasant week at Ibembo, I prepare
+to descend the river to Bumba and then to ascend the Congo to Stanley
+Falls.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img195" id="img195" ></a><img src="images/img195.jpg" width='612' height='443' alt="BASOKO FROM THE RIVER." />
+<br /><b>BASOKO FROM THE RIVER.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX" ></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>Ibembo to Stanley Falls.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The <i>Delivrance</i> a steamer built on the same lines as the <i>Florida</i>
+arrives at Ibembo on December 5th with a large cargo of cloth, clothes,
+beads, salt and other articles for barter, and also cases of food for
+the Europeans. This is almost her last voyage up the Itimbiri this
+season, for soon the waters will have fallen so low that the river will
+be navigable only by canoes. No time is wasted in the Congo State. As
+soon as the cargo was discharged, the empty holds were filled with
+baskets of rubber and ivory and in less than twenty four hours after her
+arrival, the steamer was ready to depart.</p>
+
+<p>Having arranged to travel by this boat, my baggage was soon on board,
+and we left Ibembo at midday on the 6th of December. At first the river
+passes between the cliff fronting the plateau, on which the Mission
+stands and low lying forest on the opposite bank. The cliff is red, and
+is evidently full of iron. In a short time however, both banks become
+flat and are covered with forest broken at intervals by villages which
+are well arranged, clean and tidy. Some of them are wood posts, and one
+is occupied by old soldiers, who have built themselves very good houses.
+These veterans have no pension, but are given materials to form
+plantations, and also supply the steamers with wood at the usual rate.
+They rarely, if ever, return to their native villages, which they left
+seven or ten years before as naked savages, for they are now smart
+civilised men and imitate the appearance and manners of the Europeans as
+closely as possible.</p>
+
+<p>About 6 p.m. we reach the Post of Mandungu, situated on the right bank
+of the Itimbiri. It is very well built and scrupulously tidy. Behind is
+a high wooden stockade, and in front, along the river bank is a small
+wall broken by a kind of arbour, in which is a brass gun with the
+interesting inscription G.R. III 1799.</p>
+
+<p>On again at daybreak down the swiftly running stream. The Itimbiri
+indeed, like its principal feeders, the Likati and Rubi, is rapidly
+falling, for the dry season has now commenced in earnest, and although
+thunder-storms are frequent, they are not accompanied by rain. We stop
+at Moenge, a small post on the left bank of the river, for the mail, and
+then on again until the Congo is reached an hour before sunset. The
+great river is still very full of water, which shows no signs at
+present of falling. This is, only to be expected, for all the
+tributaries are now emptying themselves into the main stream, which is
+thus kept high for some weeks after they have commenced to fall. We turn
+down the Congo and after passing some villages and a post of the S.A.B.
+Trading Company, reach Bumba at sunset.</p>
+
+<p>This is an important shipping port, for the large vessels stop here
+owing to the difficulty of navigating the Congo higher up. All the cargo
+for Stanley Falls and the Upper Congo, as well as that for Uele, has
+therefore to be transhipped here. The place is designed in a series of
+squares, one side of each being formed by the river while the spaces
+thus left are filled with well kept gardens, the whole being very
+effective. Mr. Simon, the commandant of the Station kindly lends me a
+house and also arranges to allow the <i>Delivrance</i> to take me up to
+Stanley Falls as soon as her cargo has been discharged. On each side of
+the Post are villages extending along the river bank. The men here wear
+a loin cloth, but the women only bangles, and the tatouage is varied and
+extensive.</p>
+
+<p>Next day the <i>Delivrance</i> was charged with sheets of corrugated iron for
+building purposes and it was very interesting to watch the natives
+carrying these to the ship. Like some civilised people, the natives are
+so lazy that they often give themselves a great deal of work in the
+effort to avoid it. The plates were of various sizes and shapes and
+consequently of various weights. Sauntering slowly up to the stack on
+the beach, one of the porters would examine it carefully and search for
+as small a load as possible. Then he would either lift the upper ten or
+twelve plates or try to pull the one he had chosen out from the stack.
+Having accomplished his object thus with great exertion, he would put
+the plate on his head and carry it leisurely the few yards to the boat.
+Of course the larger ones had to be moved some time, and in reality at
+the end of the day the lazy fellows had thus done more work than was
+necessary. Compared with Hindu or Chinese coolies, the Central Africans
+indeed both in the plantations and at the dock side, accomplish rather
+less than half the amount of work in the same time. The paddlers, on the
+other hand, cannot be called lazy, and when propelling canoes against
+strong currents or up rapids, exert themselves to the utmost.</p>
+
+<p>We leave Bumba on December 9th in the <i>Delivrance</i> and turn up stream.
+After passing the mouth of the Itimbiri the banks are unoccupied for
+many miles, dense unbroken forest lining each shore. Here and there is a
+wood post and we pass also two considerable areas which had evidently
+been cleared some time ago and occupied by villages. The people,
+however, were very troublesome in these parts and have since migrated
+into the interior leaving the ancient sites to elephants and other
+beasts. It is very much more comfortable on the <i>Delivrance</i> than on the
+larger steamers, for, being the only passenger, I have plenty of room in
+the cabin below and as usual in these small craft, we have all our meals
+on the bridge.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img199" id="img199" ></a><img src="images/img199.jpg" width='656' height='400' alt="LOADING A BARGE." />
+<br /><b>LOADING A BARGE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>On the 11th we arrive at Barumbu, a small Post with a large brick house
+for the Commissaire when he visits the place. Here most of the natives
+were dancing and looked very ridiculous. They did not move over the
+ground and seemed to be doing a kind of physical drill. First one leg
+was kicked forwards and backwards while the other did a heavy stiff
+looking hop. Then perhaps the arms were thrown up and down and the whole
+body advanced from the hips, and finally the head was jerked to and fro.
+These movements were repeated time after time, evidently in a regular
+set order, for once started, several people performed exactly the same
+in perfect time whether they could see each other or were back to back.
+The whole affair looked stiff and ungracious, but was keenly enjoyed by
+the natives.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img201" id="img201" ></a><img src="images/img201.jpg" width='606' height='353' alt="GENERAL VIEW OF BASOKO." />
+<br /><b>GENERAL VIEW OF BASOKO.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>An hour later we arrived at Basoko, the capital of the Aruwimi District.
+It is different from other Posts, for it has a wall running along the
+river front with a square tower in the centre, giving the appearance of
+fortification. There are indeed a few guns here, but not many troops.
+After paying a short visit to the Commissaire General of Aruwimi,
+Captain Pimpurnieaux, we continue our journey.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning was pay day, all the ordinary seamen receiving 21 mitakos
+a week, but the capitas and wheelmen were given more. These latter are
+usually a very responsible set of men, for after a few journeys they
+remember every island and land-mark on the river and often steer all day
+without a word of command from the captain. About midday we met the
+<i>Ville de Paris</i> which differs from the other steamers in having her
+wheels at the side instead of at the stern. This arrangement has not
+however, proved a success, for this boat is neither so fast nor so
+easily steered as the others.</p>
+
+<p>I am now troubled with a new complaint, synovitis of the knee joint with
+a good deal of effusion, which makes it very difficult to walk. It is
+curious why this malady should have appeared, for I had not knocked or
+otherwise injured the joint and had indeed been sitting quietly on
+steamers all day for the previous week.</p>
+
+<p>On the afternoon of the 12th we reach Isangi, a Post at the junction of
+the Lomami and the Congo. This river drains the territory occupied by
+the Company of the same name and we turn up it to visit Hambi, the chief
+town. There are a few large villages on the banks where the natives
+exhibit a curious method of hair dressing. It is allowed to grow long,
+which is very unusual in the Congo, and is then turned up and matted
+together on the top of the head with grease and the red powder of the
+cam-wood. The effect is, that each appears to be wearing a red and black
+cloth cap.</p>
+
+<p>We reach Hambi, which is a large Station well built and very tidy, the
+next day. The Company leases a very extensive territory along the river
+banks and does a large trade in rubber and ivory, the Brazilian variety
+of the former growing here very well. The natives are quite satisfied,
+work well and give very little trouble, although it is necessary to
+punish them sometimes, and as usual, the prisoners on the chain are
+given work to do outside the prison. We stay here one day and then
+descend the Lomani, and turn up the Congo. The banks of the river now
+have a new appearance, for they are higher and no longer densely wooded
+and at short intervals are villages thickly populated and containing a
+high percentage of children. Most of the men fish or build canoes, and
+all the people seem to be constantly trading with each other, selling
+food or curiosities for mitakos or cloth.</p>
+
+<p>We stop for the night at Yonanghe, a Post which has been built by a true
+native of the Congo, who at one time was the boy of Inspecteur d'Etat,
+Malfeyt. He has travelled to Europe, speaks French and English and makes
+an excellent Chef du Poste, which rank he enjoys officially, with all
+its rights and privileges. Everyone agrees he is thoroughly responsible
+and a very good friend, but if a captain of a steamer offends him, he
+will not sell him a chicken or even an egg for any sum.</p>
+
+<p>On the 15th we reach Yakussu, where is a Mission Station of the English
+Baptists. As I cannot go ashore, the missionary, Mr. Stapleton, comes on
+board and we have an interesting chat. He has known the Bangala District
+for many years and has seen the riverside population diminish very much
+during the last fifteen years. This he ascribes partly to the Sleeping
+Sickness and partly to emigration to the State Posts. At first it was
+very difficult for the people to raise enough food for themselves and
+for the soldiers in the Posts, and to avoid the hard work, many
+accepted service under the State. Here however, near Stanley Falls,
+there is plenty of food and the people have no difficulty in providing
+for their own wants and in supplying the State Posts as well. He thinks
+that after the cruelty of the Arabs, the rule of the white man appears
+as heaven to the native. All are therefore contented and happy, and as
+there is very little Sleeping Sickness, the population is increasing.
+The Mission boys are taught to be carpenters, masons and brick makers,
+for food is so plentiful that there is no need to establish plantations.
+The chief grievance of Mr. Stapleton is, that the Government will not
+permit the missionaries to settle where they wish and will not grant
+them land. Several other missionaries have also complained of this, but
+some districts are certainly not civilised at present, and it would be
+dangerous for any white man to live in them without a military guard. It
+thus happens that while there are a great number of Mission Stations
+along the Congo in the part where the population has diminished greatly,
+there is not a single Mission on the State side of the Ubangi river
+where the people are very numerous.</p>
+
+<p>We arrived at Stanleyville in the afternoon. The town is situated on the
+north bank of the river and consists of streets of large well built
+houses with much space in between which is laid out in gardens. On the
+opposite bank are the works of the railway to Ponthierville, a number of
+corrugated iron buildings and a large native village. In front, a
+hundred yards up the river, the lowest of the Stanley Falls can be seen,
+the white foam glistening in the sunlight as the water rushes over the
+rocks. The Commissaire of the District&mdash;the Province
+Orientale&mdash;Lieutenant De Neullemeister, kindly lends me a house and acts
+as my host. Fish is very plentiful here, but a sudden and terrible
+disease has suddenly carried off most of the goats and chickens and we
+are therefore, rather short of fresh meat for a few days.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the natives have the Arab type of features and their village is
+quite Arabian in appearance. They are all very civilised and work well,
+so that much rubber is collected, although the population about Lake
+Tanganika is not very dense. The women here are clothed and do not work
+in the plantations at all.</p>
+
+<p>Next day Lieutenant De Neullemeister and I, cross the river and are met
+by Mr. Adams, the Director of the Railway Company. We enter a truck and
+proceed along the new line which plunges into dense forest immediately,
+turning and twisting in many directions in order to avoid the numerous
+soft places and ravines and although there are a few steep gradients,
+most of the way the line runs on fairly level ground. The soil is a kind
+of ferruginous clay in some places and sandy in others and all the
+bridges are constructed of wood. Mr. Adams says the natives are good
+workers and that they have had no trouble with them and very little
+sickness. The gauge of the line is considerably wider than that of the
+Matadi-Leopoldville railway and at present about thirty kilometres have
+been finished the whole passing through thick forest with clearings here
+and there for the huts of the workmen. The difficulties of construction
+are very great, but these are being surmounted and the cost of transport
+of material is enormous, for every steel rail six of which weigh a ton
+has to be carried from Europe to Matadi by ship, then by the railway to
+Leopoldville, and then up the river for nearly a thousand miles. The
+Company has its own private steamer, the <i>Kintamo</i>, a stern wheeler of
+500 tons which is the largest vessel on the Congo, but like the rest was
+carried out in sections and put together and launched at Leopoldville.
+The construction of this railway will thus be costly, and it is doubtful
+if the amount of produce carried will be sufficient for some years to
+pay a dividend. The advantages of it will however, be very great, for at
+present the falls render the river useless for navigation, and
+everything has to be carried round by hand. Everywhere indeed, there is
+evidence that the State not only spends enormous sums in opening up the
+country, but welcomes the formation of private companies who will help
+them in their gigantic undertaking. It is difficult to realise that
+probably no man, white or black, has ever set foot in the forest a few
+hundred yards away, and yet we are travelling smoothly along a steel
+railroad through a tractless desert of trees propelled by a modern steam
+locomotive. The line does not pass near a single native village, for
+this part is not thickly populated and the only creatures whose paths
+are interrupted, are the elephants, buffaloes and wild pigs. On our
+return we visit the house of Mr. Adams, a solid structure of brick and
+European cement, and the Mess of the thirty or forty whites employed on
+the line who live here very well for mutton as well as goat can be
+purchased from the natives. The price of everything which has to be
+carried from Europe is very high at Stanleyville for the cost of
+transport is very great. In the afternoon, we make a tour of the town,
+and as it is impossible to walk, I am conveyed in a kind of bathchair
+resting on one wheel. One boy goes in front and one behind and when the
+road is very bad or an obstacle is met, they lift the machine bodily
+over it. It is however, a bumpy ride, for the roads are very rough and
+the chair has no springs. We pass the Mess, capable of dining sixty men
+and visit the prison. This is a brick building arranged as a quadrangle
+with an exercising yard in the centre. The cells are lofty and airy and
+only one prisoner occupies each, but many sleep in one dormitory.
+Everywhere great cleanliness is observed, so that one is not altogether
+surprised to learn that the mortality due to Sleeping Sickness is very
+small among the prisoners. Some of them are making mats and baskets in
+the yard, but most are working on the chain outside. In a separate
+building, the women, who also wear light chains, are cooking dinner for
+the prison. Indeed, on the whole the lot of a prisoner in the Congo is
+better than he would be likely to experience in a native village, with
+the exception that he is compelled to work. Most of the people are
+sentenced for theft or violence, but one woman was imprisoned for
+throwing a solution of pepper into the face of her husband and nearly
+blinding him. There is a separate room set apart for white prisoners,
+but it has not yet been used and is at present much more satisfactorily
+occupied by the instruments of the band of the Force Publique.</p>
+
+<p>Near the Mess we pass the house of Tippo-Tip, a small mud structure with
+a verandah and a roof of grass. It is not used at all now, but is
+allowed to remain as an historical monument. Stanley was compelled to
+negotiate with Tippo in order to avoid a conflict at the time when the
+State was not sufficiently armed to undertake such a task but since
+then, Arab rule has been entirely driven from Central Africa. Almost
+opposite the Falls, a fort is being constructed with a ditch all round.
+When finished, it will be capable of holding the whole garrison and
+supplies for eighteen months. It is of course, only constructed as a
+defence against native attacks and is not built strong enough to resist
+big gun fire.</p>
+
+<p>The quarters of the Force Publique here are very comfortable. Each man
+has a room to himself about seven feet square constructed of brick and
+the sergeants have a small house, each containing two rooms and a
+verandah. I looked into one or two and they were well arranged. Bed and
+mosquito curtain, table and chair with a few pictures and ornaments,
+showed what an advance the native had made in civilisation since he
+slept in a hut on the mud floor.</p>
+
+<p>Finally we visited the motive power which enables all this to be done,
+the rubber stores. Here people were busy sorting and packing the
+precious material into baskets ready to be carried to the Barge which
+was waiting to sail.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X" ></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>Stanley Falls to London.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The prison gang arrives at 8 a.m. on the morning of December 18th and at
+once my baggage is carried down to the river and placed on board the
+Barge. It is a novel sight. A long line of prisoners chained together,
+slowly marching down the road with bales, boxes, chairs, tables and
+portmanteaus on their heads. No method could be simpler or more secure
+for transporting baggage. The Barge&mdash;as the name implies&mdash;has no means
+of propulsion and depends for her locomotive power upon a powerful steam
+tug which is attached alongside. The whole space in the ship is thus
+devoted to cargo and only passengers who are sick are carried, the
+accommodation being limited, but there is a fine deck on which to sit or
+walk about. The Barge is of about 400 tons burden and is therefore as
+large as the mail passenger boats, and the great advantage of travelling
+in it is, that since there is absolutely no vibration or motion to be
+felt, it is very comfortable for writing.</p>
+
+<p>As the navigation of the river is difficult near Stanleyville, a pilot
+takes all the boats down the first day's journey and returns in the next
+vessel ascending. On the way we called at the Catholic Mission for one
+of the priests who wished to travel to La Romee and I was astonished to
+find he was quite ignorant of the agitation against the Congo, which was
+taking place in Europe, and wondered, as many of us do, what was the
+cause of it, for he knew nothing of atrocities or cruelties to natives.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards we stopped at Yakussu for wood and then at La Romee where
+there is an extensive farm. Here we take on board some fresh vegetables
+and cow's milk which however, is not fit to drink an hour afterwards.
+The climate in the Congo is very bad for all kinds of food. Antelope,
+killed in the early morning, is often rotten by the evening, and thus
+the difficulty of obtaining fresh food is greatly increased. The
+rapidity with which flesh decomposes is, perhaps, the reason why the
+natives prefer it in that condition, for as it is so difficult to obtain
+meat fresh, they may have acquired the taste for it rotten, just as some
+civilised people train their palates to prefer game high. It is however,
+very disgusting to see them eating. One day a carcase of a wild pig in a
+highly decomposed condition was picked up by one of the paddlers on the
+Ubangi. This was cut up and shared among the canoes and part of it fell
+to my crew. Next day a most unpleasant smell accompanied us all the
+forenoon and no one could detect the cause, in fact, none of the natives
+noticed it. At lunch time however, the polemen produced a basket full of
+rotten flesh which they had stored in the front part of the canoe and
+thus given me the full benefit of it. As they commenced eating it raw,
+it was rather too much and I promptly ordered them to the other end of
+the boat where I could neither see nor smell them.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="img211" id="img211" ></a><img src="images/img211.jpg" width='671' height='409' alt="THE FORCE PUBLIQUE AT STANLEYVILLE." />
+<br /><b>THE FORCE PUBLIQUE AT STANLEYVILLE.</b><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>After travelling rapidly all day down stream, we tie up at sunset at
+Yonanghe and ship some rubber. We start again at daybreak, but as the
+wood in this part is both plentiful and good, the captain stops
+frequently at the posts and takes a large amount on board. This is a
+wise precaution, for lower down the wood is not so good and there is
+less of it, while there are more steamers to be supplied. At most of the
+villages the natives come to the beach with goods for sale, but the
+price of curios is too great here to tempt me.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th we reach Basoko after running through a terrific tornado
+with so much rain that for a time it was impossible to see the banks. It
+is supposed to be the dry season here, so this storm is presumably an
+exception. Every morning there is a fog on the river more or less dense,
+which lasts for an hour or two after sunrise. During this period, it is
+often necessary to steam dead slow, for it is impossible to see a boat's
+length ahead.</p>
+
+<p>A pathetic incident happened one day. We were transporting eight
+prisoners to Boma and when we stopped these carried wood on to the
+steamer. One of them was the son of the Chief of a large village at
+which we stopped, who thus had the mortification of seeing his heir
+working &laquo;on the chain.&raquo; He begged the captain to liberate him, who of
+course had not the power to do so even if he had wished, for the man had
+been sentenced for a serious theft and was now on his way to a convict
+settlement. The Chief therefore, told his son he was to give no trouble
+to the authorities and tried to comfort him by saying he would see the
+railway and Boma and the great ships which went to Europe. These
+prisoners gave no trouble at all. They were fed on the same food as the
+crew and did a certain amount of work, the only sign that they were
+criminals, being the chain which bound them together.</p>
+
+<p>On the 21st we reached Bumba and shipped a good deal of coffee. Here it
+was necessary to give the <i>chicotte</i> to one of the crew for continually
+shirking work. He was given twenty five lashes, but it did not seem to
+affect him physically or morally, for immediately afterwards he smiled,
+rubbed himself and then slowly walked ashore to carry bags of coffee and
+while his fellows were hastening to finish their task, he was
+deliberately loitering about. Next time he will be dismissed and then he
+will find it difficult to find employment.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day we stopped at Dobo, one of the Posts of the Mongala
+Company, which has been taken over by the State. The Company found it
+was very difficult to make the people work and some serious charges of
+cruelty were proved against the officials. The Bangala tribe are
+however, very savage and only a short time ago a trader was killed and
+his body cut up ready for eating when some troops arrived and rescued
+it. The Government therefore, sent a punitive expedition into the
+country.</p>
+
+<p>There are very few villages on the river, and no signs that there have
+ever been any, for the forest grows to the water's edge in an
+uninterrupted line. At sunset we arrived at Lisala, which is a large
+military training camp, well constructed and managed. In it about a
+thousand savages are being converted into clean, smart-looking
+soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we passed the &laquo;Kintamo&raquo;, which was forcing its way up against
+the stream with a cargo of rails directed to Stanleyville. On the 24th
+we stopped at Mobeka, which is situated at the point where the Mongala
+river runs into the Congo and was the chief post of the Mongala Company.
+It is surrounded by a brick wall, except towards the river, and access
+to the Post from the native village is through stout wooden gates. At
+one place is a kind of watch tower built on the wall and the whole gives
+the appearance that the occupants knew they were living in the midst of
+cannibals, who would not hesitate to attack them if they were not well
+prepared to resist. It is to be hoped that the present expedition will
+be successful in converting a few from their barbarous condition, but
+great difficulties have to be overcome, for the fighting must be in the
+forest, as the natives never meet troops in the open if they can help
+it. In the evening we reached Nouvelle Anvers, a large and populous
+town. The houses are arranged along the river bank, surrounded by
+gardens, and the quarters of the troops leave nothing to be desired.</p>
+
+<p>Christinas Day has nothing resembling Christmas about it. A tropical sun
+burns overhead, warm sandy water glares below. In the morning we pass
+Mosembe, a Mission Station, and in the afternoon, Lulongo. There used to
+be a large village and coffee plantation here, but it was not a success
+and has been abandoned. The Mission however, still remains as also a
+Wood Post where we stop for the night and try to believe that duck is
+turkey and mutton, roastbeef. We have now traversed the whole of the
+river which runs past the Bangala District. It is undoubtedly very
+sparsely populated, but on the other hand, there are no remains of
+villages or clearings in the forest which would indicate it has ever
+been otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we reach Coquilhatville early and after taking some rubber and
+gum copal on board leave in the afternoon. From this point the river is
+familiar and at each place are old friends. At Irebu, Commandant Jeniaux
+comes on board and we have a chat about the condition of the agitation
+in Europe. Since we last met I have travelled some thousands of miles
+and have formed an opinion both of the system of Government and of those
+who administer it. There is no doubt whatever in my mind, that the
+native is not habitually ill-treated and that he is very well paid for
+his work. It is impossible to do more than guess at the object of the
+outcry, but it is certain that no agitation based on such a little
+foundation has ever been attended by such a near approach to success.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we stop at Lukoteia and take on board logs of wood and timber
+already worked into beams and posts for building. A little lower down is
+the old coffee plantation and close to it, tobacco is being grown. The
+river here is very wide and full of islands. To one of these we tie up
+and are at once attacked by millions of mosquitoes, who will not allow
+us to eat our dinner in peace. Fortunately I find an old pair of kid
+gloves and with my head covered with a silk handkerchief and my legs in
+high hunting boots, prepare for the onslaught. The mosquito here bites
+through duck trousers and socks with great ease, but his trunk cannot
+reach through the thickness of a sleeve of a coat and a flannel shirt,
+so with suitable clothes, one can gain a little peace, except for the
+constant humming round one's ears. A cigar or pipe is no protection at
+all, but the insects will not face the smoke of a wood fire. Since
+people cannot either, however, that is not much use. As it was, the few
+bites swelled up badly and completely upset the theory held by many,
+that after a few months in the Congo, the mosquito bite has no effect.
+It is some gratification&mdash;but not much&mdash;to think they only gained an
+extract of goat and chicken, instead of a solution of good juicy fresh
+meat.</p>
+
+<p>On the 29th we passed Yumbi and Bolobo. At the latter place great
+numbers of natives came to the beach to trade with our crew and black
+passengers who bought dried fish and kwanga. In the evening we reach
+Sandy Beach, opposite which, is &laquo;Lonely&raquo; island so called because it is
+the last island on the river before it narrows to pass through what is
+known as the canal. Here the banks are flanked with hills which are a
+welcome sight after the dead level of the forest higher up.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we arrive at Kwamouth and after taking some cargo from the
+Kasai on board move on to a large Wood Post. It is not a very
+interesting or lively occupation watching people cut wood in the forest
+and stack it on the beach, and these Posts are sometimes used as places
+of punishment for refractory Europeans, whom it is thought desirable to
+isolate for a time. The strict paternal system is carried out throughout
+the State and methods of punishment are adopted which are rarely if ever
+found elsewhere. For minor offences the Europeans are fined by stopping
+their pay for a certain number of days and sometimes a man is revocated,
+which means he is sent home without being paid for the six months or
+year previously. In this way men who drink hard when they have the
+opportunity, who are habitually insubordinate, or who are undesirable,
+are weeded out rapidly. Penal offences are of course tried in the Courts
+and punished with imprisonment. It is indeed curious after travelling in
+America and our colonies, to find, sturdy, rough, independent characters
+behaving with extraordinary meekness and docility. Drunken brawls and
+promiscuous revolver shooting are unknown in the Congo, for the simple
+reason, that it is impossible up country to procure drink. There are no
+drink shanties or gambling dens and indeed no amusements of any kind.
+Men work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., have their dinner and go to bed. Very
+little news penetrates from the outside world and conversation is
+therefore, limited to the immediate affairs of the individuals
+concerned. Small matters thus appear to be far more important than they
+really are and the story of any little adventure soon becomes magnified
+out of all recognition. This, perhaps, accounts also for some of the
+absurd stories of atrocities.</p>
+
+<p>On the last day of the year we reach Leopoldville and are comfortably
+installed in the Inspector's house. A kind of fete is held in the
+evening and a procession passes with lanterns on poles, but there is
+very little singing or noise of any kind and the whole affair is rather
+ghostly.</p>
+
+<p>On January 2nd we leave Leopoldville by train and remembering the amount
+of the fare coming up, I was careful to reduce my baggage to the
+minimum. Of course the food cases were all empty, the wine drunk, the
+salt paid away to natives and the petroleum burnt; still for myself,
+three boys and excess baggage, the fare for the two hundred miles was
+over &pound;25. Just before we left Leopoldville, who should enter the
+carriage but Mr. Joseph Clarke, of Ikoko, and another Mr. Clark, who is
+also a Missionary. I was very pleased to see them and hear the news from
+their side of the question. They were travelling to Maladi to attend a
+meeting of missionaries, but to-day only proceeded as far as Kinshassa.
+Mr. Clarke told me he had sent to the Commission of Enquiry some new
+photographs of the boy without a hand whom he had shown to me at Ikoko
+and was convinced that the world would be startled when the report
+appeared. All the meetings of the Commission are held in public and
+therefore the evidence submitted at them is already known. The
+interpretation of this apparently depends upon the already formed
+opinion of the individual, for while the State officials say that very
+little, if anything, has been proved against the Government, the
+Missionaries are quite satisfied that the A.B.I.R. Company will be
+severely condemned. Of course no report can possibly satisfy any of the
+controversialists for their feelings are too strong to permit them to be
+content with cold facts judicially stated.</p>
+
+<p>After an uneventful and uncomfortable journey through the beautiful part
+described before, we arrive at Sono Congo about 5 p.m. and take a room
+in the Magazins-Generaux, a wooden building raised above the level of
+the ground and fairly clean. It is beautifully fresh and cool up here,
+and for the first time for half a year, it is possible to take a bath in
+clear white water.</p>
+
+<p>On again at 6.30 a.m. at which hour it was quite cold, but as the sun
+rose and we descended, it became very hot indeed, for we were then well
+south of the Equator and it was summer in the Lower Congo. The scenery
+through the Palabala mountains improved, if possible, on a second
+acquaintance and the railway as a feat of engineering, appeared still
+more marvellous. After a dusty, hot journey, we arrived at Matadi at 5
+p.m. and found Mr. de Rache, the Commissaire of the District, on the
+platform. He had kindly taken a room at one of the hotels, but as it
+necessitated climbing up the hill and I could only walk with difficulty,
+I decided to sleep on board the <i>Anversville</i> which was discharging
+cargo at the pier head. Here indeed were all the luxuries of Europe. A
+barber, a big bath, white spotless table-cloths, clean shining plate,
+red juicy beef and last, but by no means least, cold drinks. It is worth
+roughing it to experience the keen delight at returning to comforts
+which are never appreciated at their full worth when enjoyed every day.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning we leave Matadi for Boma in the <i>Heron</i>. The current is
+running down through the narrow channel at about ten knots an hour and
+the water roars and bubbles as though passing over rocks in a rapid. We
+therefore roll a good deal and travel very fast indeed until we reach
+Boma just before midday.</p>
+
+<p>Stories in the Congo grow with extraordinary rapidity and my attack of
+synovitis had been converted into a serious illness before it reached
+the capital. A room had therefore, been prepared at the <i>Croix Rouge</i> in
+which I was soon comfortably installed. The hospital consists of eight
+sets of rooms arranged in four buildings, separated from each other, but
+with the verandahs connected by balconies. In the centre is a building
+in which the eight sisters live the whole thus forming a &quot;t&quot; with a
+building at each end of the lines and one where they intersect. The
+whole is situated on a hill from which a magnificent view can be
+obtained of the river and country around. Here I remained for nearly a
+week and was attended with much skill and care by the medical men and
+sisters. It was necessary to make some calls in the town and a carriage
+at Boma was placed at my disposal similar to the one at Stanleyville,
+but travelling in it was more comfortable for the roads are better in
+the capital. It was very hot and the mosquitoes were terribly hostile,
+but otherwise my visit was very pleasant and agreeable.</p>
+
+<p>On January 6th the German cruiser the <i>Vineta</i> and the gunboat the
+<i>Habicht</i> entered the Congo and the Governor General gave a dinner to
+the officers to which I received the honour of an invitation. I am
+tempted to give the menu to show that although living in the Upper Congo
+is not good, as a rule, in Boma it is possible to give a banquet worthy
+of anyone.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>MENU<br />
+--<br />
+<i>Potage aux tomates</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>Coquilles de crevettes</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>Barbue. Sauce c&acirc;pres<br />
+Pommes nature</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>Filet de boeuf<br />
+Flageolets. Pommes rissol&eacute;es</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>Asperges de Malines<br />
+Sauce au beurre</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>Pigeonneaux r&ocirc;tis. Petits pois</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>Poulets farcis. Compote de mangues</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>Canetons r&ocirc;tis. Salade russe</i><br />
+--<br />
+<i>G&acirc;teaux<br />
+Ananas au kirsch</i><br />
+<i>Fruits.&mdash;Desserts</i></p>
+
+<p>The wines were Oporlo, Hodiheimer, Niersteiner, Pichon Longueville 1893,
+Ch&acirc;teau Grand Larose 1893, Corton and Louis Roederer Champagne. The
+dinner was served admirably by native boys while the band of the Force
+Publique performed in the garden.</p>
+
+<p>The strong, grasping instinct of the native was well shown after I had
+paid off the &quot;boys,&quot; written them good characters and made them handsome
+presents. At the last moment they all came and demanded a further tip
+which I rather indignantly refused to give. However, they showed by
+their manner then that they were well satisfied and knew very well that
+it would be very difficult to obtain such high wages again. I had many
+long talks with Mr. Vandamme, who was as usual, very hard at work, and
+Mr. Underwood who kindly helped me to settle many matters. Indeed,
+everyone with whom I came into contact, whether State Officials,
+Missionaries or Traders, were always extremely kind and courteous and
+converted what might have been a very unpleasant and dangerous journey
+into a most interesting tour and I sincerely hope that all will remain,
+as I hope they are now, good friends, whether they agree with me or not
+about the merits of the system of Government in the Congo.</p>
+
+<p>After bidding farewell to the residents at Boma, I left in the <i>Wall</i> on
+January 10th and after a rapid journey to Banana, joined the
+<i>Anversville</i> which immediately put to sea and by sunset the mouth of
+the Congo was out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>The voyage home was uneventful, except for a few days of strong head
+winds. Among the passengers were Mr. Gohr, the Director of Justice, who
+well deserved a holiday after his extremely responsible and arduous
+duties, Captain Stevens, the Commissaire of the Equator District, as
+cheerful and jolly as ever, Mr. Longlain, the Director of the A.B.I.R.
+Company who has come in for a quite unmerited share of abuse, and many
+other State Officials, many of whom were in an indifferent state of
+health. Two or three Catholic and some Baptist Missionaries were also
+travelling home and it was interesting and satisfactory to find that
+everyone, whether State Official, Missionary or Trader, was convinced
+that the Commission of Enquiry would issue a report which would
+correspond with his own opinion.</p>
+
+<p>There was plenty of time to arrange the impressions of the tour in order
+and to formulate some general ideas on the system of Government in the
+Congo and the manner in which it is administered. The whole system has
+been created and is controlled absolutely by one mind. It is a very
+simple and extremely practical machine, but it is very vast. The
+officials who work it therefore, have each their own special task
+allotted to them and very few appear to understand the principles on
+which the whole moves. The problem which has been faced and successfully
+overcome, is how an unknown land populated by savages can be developed
+and civilised by its own resources without heavily taxing the native and
+without poisoning him with alcohol.</p>
+
+<p>It is done in this manner. Each native is compelled to do a certain
+amount of work for the State. This results in the collection of great
+quantities of rubber and ivory for which the native is paid. The rubber
+and ivory are then sold at a profit in Europe and the sum so realised is
+used to pay the heavy expenses of transport, to keep up the Government
+and to open out new lines of communication throughout the country. The
+native is thus made to work instead of paying a tax in money and it is
+possible to raise enough revenue without selling him alcohol.</p>
+
+<p>As has been shown in these pages, the native is very grasping and very
+idle and has little idea at present of the value either of produce or
+work. He thus charges an extortionate amount for his goats and chickens,
+and demands heavy fees for services rendered. The State however, fixes
+the price of labour and food at its fair value and demands a certain
+amount of one or other from each village. This sometimes leads to
+discontent and rebellion just as do the taxes levied by other
+Governments, and it is necessary to occupy territory with troops. No
+soldier however, is allowed to have in his possession a rifle unless he
+is accompanied by a white officer, and if he tries to ill-treat the
+natives, is severely punished.</p>
+
+<p>The officials themselves, are subjected to the most severe discipline,
+and as they exist, so to speak, on the rungs of a ladder, each one can
+be punished by the one next above him, who is, in turn, responsible,
+until at length the summit is reached. Every Post is worked on identical
+principles and the responsibility for its success or failure, rests with
+the official in charge. He is not permitted to try experiments or to
+alter the system in the least degree, and can only use his moral power
+to influence the natives. The question has been asked whether this
+system is not contrary to the letter or spirit of the Treaty of 1885.
+Clause V. of that treaty runs as follows. &quot;No Power which exercises or
+may exercise sovereign rights in the above mentioned regions shall be
+allowed to grant therein either monopoly or privilege of any kind in
+commercial matters; foreigners without distinction shall enjoy
+protection of their persons and goods as well as the right of acquiring
+and transferring moveable and immoveable property and the same treatment
+and rights as subjects of the nation in the exercise of their
+professions.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>In the first place it must be remembered that the Berlin Act applies to
+all the Powers possessing territory in the Congo basin and not to the
+Free State particularly, and secondly, that it was agreed upon by the
+Powers to prohibit monopolies and privileges in commercial matters and
+to suppress slavery, but not to interfere with the Government of the
+States or Colonies which were then or might be established and which
+might or might not sign the treaty. All the Powers indeed which signed
+the Act of Berlin of 1885 did so voluntarily and among them the Congo
+Free State which had already been recognised by the whole of Europe as
+an independent State. The signatory Powers to that Act did not create,
+define the boundaries, or in any way particularly specify the Congo Free
+State which is bound by it, therefore, to the same extent only as is
+England, France, Germany, or other signatory Powers. All these Powers at
+various times have declared that vacant land is Crown property. A German
+Imperial Order of November 26th 1895 says that the proprietorship of all
+vacant land in German East Africa belongs to the Empire. An Order issued
+by the Commissioner of the French Congo of September 26th 1891 runs
+&quot;Uncultivated soil and vacant land which nobody legally claims shall be
+considered as belonging to the State and shall form part of the colonial
+domain<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4" ></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>.&quot; In the British Empire, the right of the Government to
+declare vacant lands in the colonies Crown property has been frequently
+exercised<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5" ></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>. In annexing all the vacant lands, the Congo Free State
+therefore, has only followed the usual custom practised by all
+countries, so that it is obvious these lands are absolutely the property
+of the State, which, therefore, has a perfect right either to sell or
+lease them to Companies, Missionaries or Traders, or to collect the
+produce from them itself.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed it was never intended that the whole Congo Basin should be pegged
+out into claims by a host of adventurers without any system, law or
+order, for such a proceeding would have speedily led to complete
+anarchy. Since then the vacant lands belong to the State, it is obvious
+that traders can only acquire landed property either from the State,
+from other traders or persons possessing land. Again it is obvious that
+a trader only has the right of purchasing the produce of the land from
+the owner and although he may buy for example, rubber, which a native
+Chief has grown on his own plantation, no Chief may go into the forest
+which is State territory, collect the rubber from it and sell it, for
+such would be simple robbery.</p>
+
+<p>Now the State imposes regulations upon the concessionary Companies and
+traders, which it also observes carefully itself on its own land in
+order that the rubber plants shall not be killed and furthermore it
+stipulates that all who take rubber juice, shall plant young rubber
+trees and vines to replace those which die in process of time. The
+supply of rubber is thus assured in the future. In spite however of the
+most stringent rules the officials of the private companies undoubtedly
+ill-treat the natives sometimes.</p>
+
+<p>What then would have been the result if the country had been parcelled
+out among a number of private traders, who had simply pegged out claims?
+Their object would have been to make a large fortune and return home as
+soon as possible. After a few years, therefore, all the existing rubber
+trees and vines would have been bled to death, no new ones would have
+been planted, and the native would certainly have been over-worked and
+ill-treated. The country would then have been deserted and left to
+return to savagery. The State itself on the other hand is working for
+the future. Everything which can grow is planted, the natives are daily
+becoming more civilised, Posts are being built, roads and waterways
+opened up and the whole place rendered beautiful and attractive.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, properly in the country is guarded, trade is perfectly
+free, and everyone, native and foreigner, is free to pursue his business
+in his own manner, subject only to such laws as are imposed in all
+civilised countries for the good of the community at large.</p>
+
+<p>The Congo Free State has indeed, without breaking any Treaty, solved the
+problem which has baffled the combined wisdom of all the ancient great
+colonial Powers. It exists on its own resources without poisoning the
+natives with alcohol; it extracts much wealth from the soil without fear
+of ever exhausting it; it opens up great tracts of land without running
+heavily into debt, and&mdash;noblest of all&mdash;it daily converts naked cannibal
+savages into self-respecting responsible people.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4" ></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> See <i>New Africa</i> by Senator E. Descamps, p. 73 <i>et seq</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5" ></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> In Canada, Australia and the North West.</p></div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+</div>
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO FREE STATE***</p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State,
+by Marcus Dorman
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State
+
+Author: Marcus Dorman
+
+Release Date: March 4, 2005  [eBook #15240]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO
+FREE STATE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Brendan Lane, Martin Pettit, and the Project Gutenberg
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 15240-h.htm or 15240-h.zip:
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/2/4/15240/15240-h/15240-h.htm)
+      or
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/2/4/15240/15240-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO FREE STATE
+
+by
+
+MARCUS R. P. DORMAN, M.A.
+
+Author of _A History of the British Empire in the Nineteenth
+Century. The Mind of the Nation_, A Study of Political Thought in
+the Nineteenth Century; _Ignorance_, a Study of the Causes and
+Effects of Popular Thought; and _From Matter to Mind_.
+
+Originally published in 1905 by J. Lebegue and Co., Brussels and
+Kegan Paul, Trench, Truebner & Co., Ltd., London
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Dedicated by Permission to
+His Majesty Leopold II,
+King of Belgium and Sovereign of the Congo Free State.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This journal is practically my Diary reproduced with the minimum of
+editing in order that the impressions gained on the spot should be
+described without modification. It was never intended for publication,
+and was written only as an aid to memory. Consequently it is little more
+than a collection of rough notes.
+
+Having left England with a prejudice against the Government of the Congo
+Free State and returned with a very strong feeling in its favour, I feel
+however that it is my duty to publish an account of what I did see for
+the benefit of those whose opinions are not already formed beyond
+recall.
+
+As in all controversies where feelings subordinate reason and people
+judge more by their emotions than by evidence, many are too quick to-day
+to attribute interested motives to those whose opinions are not similar
+to their own. Since a great number of people in the Congo and at home
+are curious to know whether I was sent out by the Congo Government, the
+British Government or the _Times_, I will state here once for all that I
+went to the Congo entirely to please myself and with the hope of
+shooting big game. In order indeed to satisfy curiosity, I will go
+further and state that not only was I not paid for telling the truth,
+but that the trip cost me a great deal of money.
+
+It is however delightful to remember that wherever I went I was treated
+with the greatest kindness and courtesy by all whether they approved of
+the system of the Congo Government or not and it gives me great pleasure
+to thank here the State officials, Missionaries of all denominations and
+Traders of various nationalities for their hospitality, friendship and
+valuable assistance.
+
+M.R.P.D.
+
+London 1905.
+
+[Illustration: MAP--ITINERARY OF MARCUS R.P. DORMAN IN
+THE CONGO FREE STATE]
+
+[Illustration: THE STEAMER _FLORIDA_.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+London to Banana.
+
+
+There was no time to spare. The ship sailed from Southampton in forty
+eight hours and I had only just arranged to accompany Lord Mountmorres
+on a tour in the Congo Free Stale. He was going out for the purpose of
+discovering the true condition of affairs in that country and of writing
+articles thereupon for the _Globe_ but incidentally hoped to have some
+big game shooting. After one has read much about a country it is always
+interesting to visit it and as the prospect of good sport was added in
+this case, I at once decided to brave the cannibals, wild beasts,
+and--most dangerous of all--the climate, and to seize the opportunity to
+visit the Congo.
+
+It was necessary to purchase a complete camp outfit, suitable clothes
+and much food-stuff and to arrange certain affairs at home. The first
+part was however rendered easy for it was only necessary to duplicate
+the order already given by Lord Mountmorres, and with a rapidity which
+could not be equalled anywhere else, the Army and Navy Stores and
+Messrs. Silvers packed and despatched tent, furniture and cases in a few
+hours.
+
+As there are many and varied discomforts which cannot be avoided when
+travelling in the Congo, or any other tropical and half-civilised
+country, it is just as well not to add to their number by omitting to
+benefit by the experience of others. A few hints may therefore be
+inserted here without apology for the benefit of other travellers. The
+first articles to be considered are a tent, bed, and mosquito-net. Now
+when the usual oblong tent with a penthouse roof is pitched and the bed
+made, surmounted by the mosquito-net, the only place in which there is
+room for it, is in the middle of the tent between the two poles. The
+result is that as the roof slopes, it is absolutely impossible to stand
+upright on either side and much space is therefore wasted. It would be
+better to arrange for the bed to stand close to one side of the tent and
+for the net to be attached to the sloping roof leaving the middle and
+the other side free for table and chair. Circles of hooks for clothes
+should be attached to the poles and large pockets in the walls of the
+tent itself are useful. It is needless to specify particulars about
+furniture, and I will only say that the folding or concertina pattern
+bed, bath, washhandstand and table proved very comfortable and
+withstood the great strain of being packed and unpacked nearly every day
+for six months without breaking down. A strong, long lounge chair is
+absolutely necessary. In climates where there is much glare, everything
+should be made of green canvas. The well-known Lord's patent petrol lamp
+is certainly the best and although it necessitates carrying a good
+supply of oil, is cleaner and more convenient than candles. There is not
+space here to give a list of all the necessities for travelling and
+camping in the forests of Africa and it is enough to say that one has to
+carry a complete house, furniture, kitchen utensils and much food. Wheat
+and milk cows do not exist in the forest and very little grows which is
+edible. It is therefore necessary to carry sufficient flour, butter,
+lard, condiments, tinned meats, vegetables and fruits in order to cook,
+and to make a variety from the antelopes, fish, game, goats and chickens
+which are procurable on the spot. Water bottles and filters are very
+necessary, but for Africa the best change at home--those which have
+porcelain cores--are of no use for the water is very muddy, and the
+minute pores at once become blocked. The charcoal filters, although
+bulky to carry, are therefore the best for the forest. The question of
+alcohol must be left to the individual himself, but it must be
+remembered that there are only a very few places where it can be
+purchased in the Congo and that the State officials are only permitted
+to have a limited amount for themselves. Undoubtedly the best wine for
+the climate is good claret or burgundy, and the healthiest spirit,
+whisky. It is however, well to have some medical comforts in the shape
+of champagne and brandy to take after attacks of fever. Excellent
+native coffee can be purchased; tea and sugar must be carried. Drugs,
+especially iron, quinine, arsenic and phenacetin are essential as also
+splints, bandages and dressings in case of accidents.
+
+Now it must be remembered that the climate is hot and humid. Metals rust
+at once, leather and cloth become mouldy, food stuffs will keep one or
+two days only after the tins are opened, and cigars, tobacco and
+cigarettes become damp and ferment. In packing therefore, all the food,
+cigars, cigarettes and tobacco should be soldered airtight and in tins
+so arranged that when once opened, it is possible _to shut_ them again.
+A tin of sardines or condensed milk once opened cannot be carried in a
+case liable to be upside down at any moment. There are however, some
+bottles with screw tops and india-rubber rings in which Messrs. Crosse
+and Blackwell send out jam. These are airtight and so very useful for
+when they are empty they can be cleaned and used for milk, sardines, or
+anything else again and again. Messrs. Huntley and Palmer pack biscuits
+in their usual tins but with an inner lid soldered, and these are also
+very convenient. Above all things, remember curry powder, pickles,
+chutney and Worcester sauce, for even goat's flesh can be rendered
+pleasant if it tastes of something else. All this may sound trivial, but
+it is really very important, for the appetite is easily lost in the
+Congo and if the strength is not maintained by plenty of food, sickness
+is certain to follow. Leather cases for rifles and guns are not good as
+they deteriorate. The best case I have ever seen was made for me by a
+ship's boatswain. It was of strong sail canvas made to fit the rifle
+and covered outside with ordinary ship's paint; the inside speedily
+became lined with oil and the whole formed an excellent guard against
+the damp. It is however, necessary to have firearms cleaned and oiled
+nearly every day whether used or not.
+
+Clothes of cloth are not necessary. Drill, khaki and flannel are
+sufficient with light helmets and plenty of strong boots. It must be
+remembered that everything has to be carried by porters. Clothes,
+blankets, etc. should be packed in tin boxes with rubber edges so that
+when shut they are airtight; tents pack in bales and every article of
+furniture should fold up. The whole equipment must be arranged so that
+each load is about 50 or 60 lbs and is conveniently shaped for carrying
+on the head or shoulder. We were careful to choose the lightest
+articles, whenever consistent with strength, and thus our baggage when
+completed weighed only a little more than two tons.
+
+All was ready when we left Waterloo at 10.25 a.m. on Friday June 24th
+1904 accompanied by Sir Alfred Jones and Sir Ralph Moor who saw us off
+at Southampton. The latter has had much experience of Africa and told
+some blood-curdling stories of the manners of the natives. Adulterers
+used to be punished in a most barbarous way. A youth who had erred with
+one of the numerous wives of a Chief, was nailed by the ears to a tree
+in the forest and left to starve. Women also were treated with equal
+severity and all manner of mutilations were practised. Such atrocities
+have of course been suppressed by the Congo Free State.
+
+Having reached Southampton, we went on board the S.S. _Leopoldville_, a
+ship of about 5,000 tons burden, very clean and well-found. She belongs
+to the _Compagnie maritime belge_ which runs a ship every third week
+from Antwerp and Southampton to Boma and Matadi. We sailed about 2 p.m.
+and a savoury smell from the galley reminded us that it was about seven
+hours since we had breakfasted.
+
+Some of the passengers were English military officers and miners bound
+for the Gold Coast, but most were evidently officials of the Congo Free
+State. The conversation soon turned upon the agitation in Europe against
+the Congo Government, and it was extraordinary with what sorrowful
+indignation the various charges were refuted. This impressed me greatly
+at the time for it was in marked contrast with the indifference shown by
+an average Englishmen when his country and methods are abused by
+foreigners. Probably the explanation is, that we are so used to
+unmerited abuse, that we regard it as part of the normal order of
+things. The Congo State on the other hand, has only recently become
+sufficiently prosperous to attract attention.
+
+One of the passengers dressed as a Catholic Priest, proved a veritable
+mine of information. This was Mgr. Derikx, Prefet Apostolique of Uele in
+the Upper Congo. He had had five years' experience of the country and
+was well versed in all its institutions and ways. Another was a young
+military officer, M. Arnold, already of the rank of Commandant, for he
+had shown distinguished service in the field--or rather the forest--and
+also as an administrator at a State Post. There were also many other
+officials, soldiers, lawyers and commercial agents on board.
+
+I determined therefore, to read the various books and reports written
+against the Congo--whether the writers had ever been in the country or
+not--then to question the officials who had worked there, and finally to
+see the actual condition of affairs for myself.
+
+We tumbled about in The Bay of Biscay a little and the motion did not
+much aid the digestion of the contents of histories and blue and white
+books. A welcome break was therefore made when we reached Teneriffe on
+June 29th. It is early afternoon and the view of Santa Crus from the sea
+is very beautiful. In the foreground is ultra-marine coloured water; on
+shore, bright yellow houses with red roofs dotted among palms and other
+foliage of vivid green, and behind all, frowns the great grey mountain
+12,000 feet high. The hills stretching up from the sea are in many cases
+terraced for gardens and vineyards and a new hotel stands out
+prominently on one side. It is a glorious picture, but if the eye is
+delighted as the boat approaches the shore, the nose is offended
+immediately on landing. Streets, houses and people near the harbour are
+dirty and odoriferous and as the shops are all shut for a saint's day,
+the town looks dismal in spite of the bright sun.
+
+After changing some money at the shop of a jew who gave us the wrong
+amount and looked injured when we insisted upon the right, we took an
+open carriage and drove to the Cathedral. The building is not imposing
+from the outside, but is highly gilded within where is the famous Holy
+Cross which gives the town its name. There are also many wax figures
+representing saints, mostly dressed in the costume of the seventeenth
+century and enclosed in glass cases. The boy who acted as our guide
+having discovered our nationality, pointed out with great glee _English
+organ_, _English clock_. and finally with satirical humour--probably
+unconscious--_English flags_. These flags are those lost by Nelson at
+the siege of Santa Crus where he lost his arm and a good story is told
+about them. An ambitious British middy stole them from the Cathedral and
+was very disappointed, when instead of being at once promoted, he was
+forced to apologize and restore them.
+
+We next drive up a broad, fairly well kept, boulevard to the Bull Ring
+situated in an open space behind the town. A woman conducts us into the
+ring and shows us the stables in which the infuriated beasts are kept
+before they are asked to shed their blood for the idle amusement of the
+spectators. On the walls are many names which look like British, and the
+guide is quite astonished when we refuse to add ours to their number.
+
+Commandant Arnold here takes on board six camels, for it is hoped these
+ships of the desert will also sail equally well in the forest. The
+experiment is at any rate not expensive, for they only cost L16 each and
+will carry several hundred pounds weight of baggage.
+
+From time to time the Congo Government has been charged with forcing the
+natives to work against their will and with ill-treating them, and it
+has also been alleged that the native soldiers committed many atrocities
+during the wars against the revolting tribes. Many of these charges have
+been collected and published in _Civilisation in Congoland_ written by
+Mr. H.R. Fox-Bourne, the Secretary of the Aborigines Protection Society.
+The author has not travelled in the country himself, but relies chiefly
+upon the evidence of the late Mr. Edward Glave, at one time an official
+of the Congo International Association, and of the late Mr. Sjoeblom who
+was a Swedish Missionary in the Congo. The book is not cheerful reading,
+for indeed it is chiefly a record of crimes which have been committed in
+the past.
+
+It has been frequently stated that acting under the orders, or at least
+with the connivance of the agents of the Congo State and those of the
+Commercial Companies in the country, the native police or sentries have
+punished in a most barbarous manner all those natives who refused to
+work. It is alleged indeed, that these sentries have actually cut off
+the hands of those who did not collect the rubber or food-stuff demanded
+by the agents. To even read of such sickening horrors is terrible, and I
+was therefore much relieved to find that none of the State officials on
+board had ever seen natives maimed in that or any other manner by the
+soldiers of the State. There seems however, to be no doubt that the
+native chiefs in the past mutilated both the living and dead as
+punishment for crime. Mgr. Derikx told me that he had heard of a case
+where a chief had ordered that the hand of his own son should be cut off
+because he had committed adultery with one of his numerous wives.
+
+We arrived at Dakar, the capital of the French colony of Senegambia, at
+daylight on July 3rd. Navigation is not easy here, for a reef runs
+parallel to the coast and the channel between, is neither broad nor
+deep. The town is built on the shores of a bay and faces an island
+strongly fortified. The whole colony is being rapidly developed; a
+railway runs to St. Louis and roads are being constructed across the
+desert towards Timbuctoo and the northern coasts. A flourishing
+industry in palm oil is carried on and Dakar is also an important
+military centre. Several of the officers however, were engaged in the
+peaceful pursuit of fishing at the end of the breakwater when we
+arrived.
+
+At Dakar, Commandant and Madame Sillye come on board. The former has
+served for ten years in the Congo and is now taking out ten horses
+purchased in Senegambia, from which he hopes to breed. They are a fine
+looking set, very quiet and well behaved, and take up their quarters
+opposite the camels without creating any disturbance. We have now quite
+a menagerie on board. Besides the camels and horses, there are pigeons
+to be trained as carriers, guinea pigs with which the doctors
+investigating the terrible disease the Sleeping Sickness, will
+experiment and several dogs belonging to the passengers. Various kinds
+of rubber and other living plants also occupy an appreciable part of the
+promenade deck. Passengers and cargo indeed, are strong evidence of the
+earnest way in which the Congo is being developed.
+
+It is necessary now to turn from the actual visual facts and to study
+the statements of others. While doing so however, we must bear in mind
+the main outlines of the history of the Congo Free State. The opening up
+of the Congo was entirely due to the initiative of King Leopold of
+Belgium aided by the explorations of the late Sir H.M. Stanley. In 1878,
+after Stanley's first descent of the Congo, a society of philanthropists
+was formed called the _Comite d'etudes du Haut-Congo_ but this was
+changed in 1882 to the _Association Internationale du Congo_. Stanley
+and a French officer, M. de Brazza, then both worked up from the coast
+at the same time and the former reached Lake Leopold on June 1st 1882,
+while the latter concluded treaties with the Chiefs on the north bank of
+the river and founded the French Congo.
+
+The International Association of the Congo at once organised itself into
+an Independent State and on April 22nd 1884 a Declaration was made by
+the Government of the United States of America that it recognized the
+flag of the International Association as that of a friendly Government.
+At the end of 1884 and the beginning of 1885, Conventions were arranged
+between the Governments of Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium,
+Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Russia and Sweden and
+Norway and the International Association of the Congo in which all those
+countries recognised the flag of the International Association as that
+of a friendly Government. It is therefore clear that the chief Powers of
+the World regarded the Association as an Independent State and
+negotiated with it as such.
+
+At the same time the Powers of Europe were annexing various parts of
+Africa, and with the idea of regulating in a spirit of mutual goodwill
+the conditions most favourable for the development of civilisation and
+commerce, a Conference was arranged at Berlin by Prince Bismarck. All
+the Powers of Europe and the United States of America sent
+plenipotentiaries who sat from November 15th 1884 to February 26th 1885
+and agreed to the General Act of Berlin of the latter date. In this it
+is decreed that all nations should enjoy complete liberty of commerce in
+all the territories constituting the basin of the Congo and its
+tributaries, and also in other parts of Central Africa mentioned, that
+slavery should be abolished and that the Congo river should be open to
+general navigation.
+
+We shall have to refer to this Treaty later, but it is important to note
+here that the United States of America and all the great Powers of
+Europe had recognised the International Association as an Independent
+State before it was signed. Furthermore, before this date, Conventions
+had been signed with France and Portugal to arrange the frontiers
+between the territories of those Powers and the International
+Association. The General Act of Berlin had however nothing to do with
+frontiers at all, but stated the general principles which it seemed were
+best suited to the needs of the people and territories in Central
+Africa, to which all the African Powers, and among them the
+International Association, voluntarily agreed. It is therefore clear
+that the clauses of the Act apply to all the Powers in the territories
+defined, and that the Act itself was not concerned with founding or
+regulating the system of Government of the International Association,
+which six months later took the name of the _Etat Independant du Congo_
+with His Majesty Ring Leopold II. as sovereign.
+
+While engaged in studying these treaties, we arrived at Free Town,
+Sierra Leone on July 5th. Here again the place forms a beautiful picture
+from the sea. A reef runs far out and is marked by a lighthouse, while
+the town itself, protected by a fort with grass ramparts, lies on the
+south side of a kind of bay, which, however, has more the appearance of
+the mouth of a large river. Palms and other tropical plants grow to the
+water's edge and among them are yellow and red houses while higher up
+the hills behind, are isolated bungalows and the barracks, at this time
+occupied by the West African regiment. In the distance, bleak and bare
+mountains passively regard the scene. On landing, one meets faces
+showing every shade from ivory white to jet black and clothes of every
+known colour. The roads are not paved in any way, as there are neither
+horses nor wheeled vehicles here. Indeed, the houses are built in rows
+facing each other, a gutter is cut in front and the space between forms
+a street. The Custom House is an imposing structure near the beach and
+the Cathedral is a handsome Gothic church, but as one end was covered
+with scaffolding, it was not looking its best. A light railway runs up
+the hill to the barracks of the native regiment and a special train was
+arranged for the passengers of the _Leopoldville_.
+
+Hotel accommodation in Sierra Leone is, like the demand for it, limited.
+It is, however, possible to obtain a meal at the _Victoria_. Altogether
+Free Town leaves the impression that it could be developed into a most
+attractive watering place if it were nearer Europe and had a better
+climate.
+
+It is now getting rather hot and tropical, while the sea is as smooth as
+a mirror and equally reflects the glare.
+
+I continue to read up the Congo controversy. The report of Mr. Casement,
+at one time British Consul at Boma, created quite a sensation when it
+appeared. He stated that the Congo Free State had granted concessions to
+Trading Companies, which is a fact, and that the agents of these
+companies compelled the natives by force to collect rubber, which
+however, he does not attempt to prove by his own experience, but relies
+entirely upon reports of natives and hearsay evidence. He quoted one
+case which illustrates the extreme difficulty of discovering the truth
+from natives. He examined a boy named Epondo who stated that his left
+hand had been cut off by a native sentry. Not knowing the native
+dialect, Mr. Casement employed an interpreter, but he was convinced by
+the manner and gestures of the villagers that the boy's story was true.
+When the report appeared, the boy was again examined by some officials
+of the State, when he at once contradicted the first statement and said
+that his arm and hand had been severely bitten by a wild boar when he
+was a child and that the hand afterwards fell off. Now one of these
+tales is obviously false and there is evidence to show which, for the
+scar of a clean cut wound is different from that following gangrene.
+However, at this time I had not seen the boy, so of course could give no
+opinion. This is the only case of reputed mutilation which could be
+discovered for the benefit of Mr. Casement and was a very unfortunate
+example of an atrocity, for in the first place it was the _left_ hand
+that was missing and the soldiers were supposed always to cut off the
+_right_, and in the second, there was great doubt whether it was the
+result of an accident or not.
+
+We were now coasting off Liberia and Captain Sparrow who was in command
+of the _Leopoldville_ cheered us up with the statement that the charts
+of this part had not been revised for eighty years, that there were many
+rocks and that ships frequently went ashore here. Wreckers then went out
+and looted everything on board. It is not therefore, a pleasant place in
+which to make an enforced landing.
+
+Liberia itself however, must be interesting to visit, for it is an
+independent republic of negroes with an elected President, Senate and
+House of Representatives. It sells palm oil to other countries and buys
+alcohol, arms and ammunition, thus exchanging a peaceful luminant and
+lubricant for the elements of moral and physical strife. Fortunately no
+rocks appear through the bottom of the ship and Commandant Sillye
+relieves the monotony of the voyage by describing the Constitution of
+the Congo State, which however, like other constitutions, is
+occasionally revised. At its head is the Sovereign of the State aided by
+Ministers at Brussels, next in rank comes the Governor-General and
+Vice-Governor-Generals, one of whom is always at Boma. There are also
+Royal Commissioners and Inspectors of the State who are very high
+officials, but whose duties are not easily defined. The whole country is
+divided into Districts which are governed by District Commissioners. The
+Districts are divided into zones ruled by zone chiefs under the control
+of the District Commissioners. Finally the Posts and Stations are
+commanded by Post-Commanders. All these may be described as civil
+administrative officials who, subject to the general system and laws
+have practical control over more or less limited areas. The officers of
+the Force Publique rank as Commandant, Captain, Lieutenant and
+Under-Lieutenant, and there are also several white non-commissioned
+officers. The natives rank as sergeants, corporals and privates.
+
+On July 8th we arrive at Sekondi, Gold Coast Colony. The town from the
+sea seems to consist of white houses and huts with the usual red roofs.
+On a hillock near the shore is an old Dutch fort now used as a
+signalling station, and on the left, half way up a hill, an hotel has
+been built. The place is not very pretty or attractive-looking for there
+is not much colour and no mountains are visible. We anchor some distance
+from the beach and several open boats at once put off. These are each
+propelled by ten or twelve natives, who sit on the sides of the boat and
+ply their paddles, lustily singing as they work together and with a
+will. The paddles are shaped somewhat like those of a Canadian canoe,
+except that the blade is star shaped. All the cargo is swung overboard
+into these boats or canoes as they are called, and the passengers are
+lowered in a kind of chair. As there is a heavy ground swell running,
+the canoes are bobbing up and down like corks alongside. The chair is
+suspended in mid air and lowered rapidly as the canoe washes up, while
+all hope that it and its occupant will descend at the right moment.
+
+One of the passengers was an English officer, Captain Wheeler, with whom
+we had played many games of deck cricket on the voyage. First his
+regulation seventy cubic feet of baggage was lowered--an extraordinary
+amount, for no one without the aid of a slide rule and logarithms could
+possibly calculate it--and then he himself made the perilous
+descent--without a ducking. He would next have 240 miles of train
+journey to Coomassie and then a walk--or rather a journey in a
+hammock--for another 300 miles to his station.
+
+We now travel parallel to the Gold Coast which looks hot and uninviting,
+for there are but few patches of green or trees until Cape Coast Castle
+is reached. Here is a fort which must have impressed natives and slave
+dealers greatly in the past, a few houses and an imposing looking
+church dotted in the red sand. The whole line of the Coast here,
+somewhat recalls the Atlantic sea board of Georgia, U.S.A. and the towns
+look as though they would be as hot as Aden at its best or rather worst.
+
+After leaving the Gold Coast, our course is shaped across the Bight of
+Benin straight for the Congo. There is plenty of time therefore, to
+study the system of justice in the Congo. This, like everything else in
+the country, is essentially simple and practical. There is a Court of
+Premiere Instance at Boma and others called Territorial Courts at
+Matadi, Stanley Pool, East Kwango, The Equator, Bangalas, Aruwimi,
+Stanley Falls and Kassai[1]. In each Court is a Judge, an Officer of the
+Public Ministry and a Registrar, but in the Territorial Courts, the
+judge may assume the functions of all. These courts hear all civil
+cases, whether European or native, but the Court at Boma is alone
+competent to hear trials for capital offences, whether committed by
+soldiers or civilians. The Court of Appeal consists of the President,
+two Judges, an Officer of the Public Ministry and a Registrar, and hears
+all appeals from the judgments of the other Courts, and also from those
+given by Courts Martial against civilians who are not natives in those
+regions subjected to special rule. Natives who commit offences against
+other natives, are left to be dealt with by the local Chief[2]. The
+Public Minister can however interfere if he thinks the crime will not
+be punished if left to the Chief.
+
+The Public Ministry consists of a Procureur d'Etat appointed by the
+Sovereign, who acts in the Court of Appeal and of substitutes appointed
+by the Governor General, who act in the other Courts. Their duty is to
+discover all infractions of the law in the whole territory of the State
+and to see that all decrees, arrests, ordinances and penal regulations
+are carried out. They are especially instructed to arrange that any
+native who has been injured receives full compensation before any fine
+is taken to the profit of the State.
+
+Any region can be placed under military law by a decree of the Governor
+General. Civilians however, are only subject to the ordinary penal laws,
+and those who are not natives, can appeal against any decision of a
+Court Martial. In practice these simple methods work admirably and it is
+difficult to understand why they should not be equally successful in old
+civilised countries and a good substitute for the complicated and
+cumbrous machinery of to-day.
+
+[Illustration: THE NATIVE HOSPITAL AT BOMA.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] This list is taken from _Justice Repressive (Etat Independant du
+Congo)_ and is based on a Decree of 1896. Since then other Territorial
+Courts have been or are about to be added.
+
+[2] Some of the greater Chiefs and Sultans have the power to inflict the
+death sentence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Banana to Leopoldville.
+
+
+The amount of sand in the bath water on the morning of July 12th
+indicated that we were approaching the mouth of a large river. The
+Atlantic indeed, which had varied in colour from dirty green near the
+English Channel to ultra marine at Teneriffe, was now of a fine amber
+tint. As yet land was not in sight; it was comparatively cool and a
+slight breeze was blowing. About midday the low lying coast of Central
+Africa became visible as a dark line and half an hour afterwards a
+simple break could be seen in this line which was the clearly defined
+mouth of the Congo. On reference to the chart it became clear that
+although the lower Congo forms a delta in some places twenty miles in
+width, all the streams coalesce and flow through an opening not more
+than five miles wide. On both sides the coast is low lying and well
+wooded.
+
+As we approach nearer, the northern point resolves itself into the
+extremity of a peninsula, for one branch of the river turns northward
+thus leaving a strip of land a few hundred yards wide. We pass through
+the mouth of the river, thread our way between several buoys, turn up
+this northern channel and arrive at an anchorage in which eight or nine
+small ships are riding. As we take up our position a boat leaves the
+shore flying the Congo Flag, a blue ground with a golden star in the
+centre. Soon after we go ashore in a _dug out_. propelled by Kru boys to
+the town of Banana, which is built on this sandy peninsula and is thus
+guarded by sharks on one side and crocodiles on the other. We land at a
+wooden pier used chiefly for loading canoes. On each side are
+magnificent palms, some being more than fifty feet high and all bearing
+many cocoa nuts at this season about half ripe. These palms are not
+indigenous, but flourish here. The main highway of Banana is a path of
+clean yellow sand about ten feet wide, shaded by an avenue of these
+palms and crosses at intervals small tidal streams by rustic wooden
+bridges. Many tropical trees and shrubs grow on each side of the avenue,
+and in the bright sunshine the whole forms a very beautiful picture. It
+is unfortunate that the effect reminds one somewhat forcibly of a
+transformation scene of a pantomime and thus appears artificial although
+in reality, it is absolutely natural. The resemblance is still further
+strengthened by the numerous ladies of the ballet who leisurely stroll
+along clothed in nature's ebony black. No one seems to know the origin
+of the name of the town, for the Banana palm is not found here at all.
+
+At the extreme end of the point, and extending inwards for several
+hundred yards, are the grounds of the Dutch Trading Company, which has
+been established here for more than fifty years and ships many of the
+products of the country. The wooden sheds painted white are very
+picturesque amid the vivid green foliage. Beyond this area is the house
+of Dr. Carre, the Commissaire of the District of Banana, which like all
+the other houses in the town is raised on piles above the level of the
+sand, for the double purpose of ensuring a current of air beneath and of
+keeping it dry when the peninsula is flooded. It faces the sea and
+behind is a small garden in which are many meteorological instruments.
+Among these are an anemometer slowly revolving in the light air, maximum
+and minimum bulbs in the shade, on the ground and beneath it, a most
+ingenious sun dial, and a heliometer. Walking inland along the central
+avenue, we pass some native shops, one of which bears the interesting
+name of _Williams Brothers_. In many of the verandahs, native women
+wrapped in highly coloured cloths but with bare feet and legs, are
+working sewing machines or tending their children. Further on is a space
+laid out in regular squares, in each of which is a well built wooden
+house raised on piles, and an ornamental garden, the flower beds being
+bordered either with sea shells or with glass bottles pushed neck
+downwards into the sand, leaving about two inches projecting above the
+surface. A little further on is an hotel facing the sea in which is
+apparently poor accommodation and not much to eat or drink. Beyond this
+is the native village, consisting of square huts and rough gardens in
+which some potatoes seem to be growing in spite of the soil and
+temperature.
+
+Only about twenty Europeans live at Banana and their chief excitement is
+the arrival of the steamer. Most of them indeed came off to dinner and
+held a kind of concert in the saloon afterwards. All night long winches
+and men were creaking, groaning, and shouting, as some of the cargo was
+put overboard into two large lighters. It was not however, destined for
+Banana and was transshipped here only to lighten the _Leopoldville_ so
+that she could pass a certain bar higher up the river. The cargo
+consisted of coal in the shape of brickets, cement, rice, oil, cloth,
+clothes, beads, salt and general provisions. As soon as sufficient had
+been removed, the two lighters were attached one to each side of the
+ship and we started up the main stream, which here runs between the
+south or Portuguese bank and a series of islands. All these are covered
+with dense forest the only living things visible being great black
+eagles with white wings. On the left bank of the river we pass Malela, a
+station for collecting bamboos, and soon after Kissange on the opposite
+side where palm oil is made and shipped. A little higher up, the country
+opens out and a range of hills becomes visible in the distance, the
+plain between being covered with coarse grass six or seven feet high,
+relieved at intervals by solitary palm trees. This is all Portuguese
+territory, the Congo State here possessing only a narrow strip of land
+along the northern bank. The course of the river here is very sinuous,
+winding in and out among the hills, the curves being cut more sharply
+each day as the water eats into the sand and carries it to be digested
+in the great stomach of the Atlantic.
+
+In this district both the State and the Portuguese have started large
+farms for breeding European cattle which thrive here satisfactorily.
+Higher up a solitary rock overhangs the left bank. This is known as
+Fetish Rock from the legend that the natives used to throw live people
+from it into the river as sacrifices. This is possibly true but there is
+little evidence to show that the natives of the Congo ever sacrificed
+either living or dead to propitiate anyone or anything.
+
+Near here we anchor for the night and are welcomed by a host of most
+noisy and vicious mosquitoes who have a particular partiality to good
+healthy European-fed blood. Again we are delayed to unload and this time
+into a small steamer the _Lagoon_--for the ship is still too deep in the
+water to cross the bar. This sandy obstruction has an unpleasant habit
+of shifting its position and it is necessary therefore to make careful
+soundings every voyage at this time of the year when the water is low.
+These are carried out by Captain Sparrow and Mr. Wright the chief Congo
+pilot with the aid of a most ingenious sounding machine. It consists of
+a simple pulley wheel raised on a standard about ten feet above the deck
+of a small pilot steamer. Over this passes a line weighted at both ends
+but unequally, and both weights hang down in the water, the heavier
+naturally being on the bottom of the river. To prevent this line--which
+corresponds to the ordinary lead line--trailing, as the boat moves
+forward, a second line is fixed to the weight and passes under water to
+the bows of the vessel where it is attached As the vessel passes slowly
+through the water, the weight rises and falls according to the level of
+the bottom, and the counterweight hauls in the slack of the line, which
+is marked in the usual way by coloured tapes. At any moment therefore,
+the depth of water can be determined by observing the tapes. There is
+now only 15-1/2 feet on the bar, so it is necessary to lighten the
+_Leopoldville_ still more before it will be possible to cross. Thus
+early one of the chief difficulties in the Congo the transport of
+goods--is demonstrated.
+
+A fine crocodile lies asleep on the bank within easy range as we go back
+to the ship in the launch, but no one has a rifle so his dreams are
+undisturbed. As the _Leopoldville_ will not be able to reach Boma until
+the morrow, we decide to go on in the _Heron_, a small ship which
+calls for all the State passengers. After Fetish Rock, the river bends
+sharply to the right and soon after Boma is in sight. At this distance
+however, the town merely appears as groups of white houses amid trees
+backed by green hills. Guarding the approach is a strong looking fort
+which already has a history, for it was captured by rebels and held for
+one or two days a few years ago.
+
+As the sun was seeking his couch we arrive at the iron pier at Boma on
+which we find Mr. Underwood, the Director of the well known English
+trading house of Messrs. Hatton and Cookson. With him we walk down the
+main business street of the town; a wide shady road lined with shops,
+hotels, and restaurants and traversed by a steam tram. At the end of
+this street the road continues to the right, up an incline and opposite
+to the corner is one of the entrances to the Residency. Passing this we
+leave a Catholic church, constructed of corrugated iron, on the right
+and enter a shady avenue in which is the Secretariat. We are then
+introduced to Mr. Vandamme, the Secretaire General, who at once takes us
+to the Residency and presents us to Mr. Costermans, the Governor General
+of the Congo Free State, who hopes we shall travel wherever we feel
+inclined and see anything we desire.
+
+The Residency is a large two storey house surrounded by a wide verandah
+and is built of iron plates bolted together. It is raised about ten feet
+from the ground on iron pillars and approached by a wide staircase with
+wooden steps. It is surrounded by a well kept garden in which are some
+statues and many tropical plants. The view from the verandah, looking up
+and down the river is very pretty. Although the house is in good
+condition and the dining room large enough to seat thirty people, it is
+thought not to be worthy of its function, and another large building
+will soon be erected on the same site.
+
+After this visit we proceed to a house which is kept for the use of the
+higher State Officials when they pass through Boma and which was now
+placed at our disposal. It is constructed in a similar manner to the
+Residency and although smaller, contains three lofty reception and two
+bed rooms. Two _boys_. are told off to attend to our wants and after a
+rest we take a stroll round the town with Mr. Vandamme. Most of the
+official residencies are situated in one Avenue and are surrounded by
+gardens in which palms, bulbous trees, and acacias give welcome shade to
+the roses beneath. The Avenue du Plateau leads up a gentle incline to
+the Law Courts in which once a week sits the Court of Premiere Instance.
+Near by is the prison and the terminus of the tramway. From the summit
+of the hill a grand view is obtained of the river winding between the
+hills to the East, and at one's feet is a native village nestling in a
+valley, for the natives dislike wind and cold almost as much as they do
+rain. Separated from it is another native village in which the
+Government has placed the educated people who can read and write and
+many are now ambitions to qualify for admission.
+
+It is now time to return to dinner with Mr. Vandamme where we meet Mr.
+Gohr, the Director of Justice, and Mr. Underwood. Everyone here dines in
+white, which is both cool and picturesque. Our host has an excellent
+native cook who gives us some very good vegetable soup, one of the
+numerous Congo fishes, all of which are nice, a very tender chicken, an
+excellent salad and a well made omelette, all of which are products of
+the country. Flour and butter have however, to be imported, as no wheat
+will grow in this part of the country and the cows give scarcely enough
+milk for their calves. Everyone retires and rises early, so at 9 p.m. we
+seek our house guided by a boy with a lantern, for most of the streets
+of Boma are not lighted artificially.
+
+Next day we call on Mr. Nightingale who is at present acting as British
+Consul. The consulate is about a mile from the town situated on the
+banks of the river and is well constructed of wood. Mr. Nightingale
+offers kindly to lend us any assistance on our voyage that we may
+require. Afterwards we buy many things which will be necessary up
+country, among which are bags of salt, a very popular form of money in
+some parts, and tins of petrol for the lanterns.
+
+Everyone in Boma works hard, from the Secretaire General who is at his
+office from 7 a.m. to midday and from 2.30 to 5 p.m. to the hardy
+healthy-looking native who wields his pick as he chats with his fellows.
+Roads are being made and gardens laid out in various places. One very
+noticeable feature of the natives here, is that they nearly all bear
+wellmarked vaccination marks. Here and there a policeman patrols in an
+effective costume of blue and red and armed with a short sword.
+Everywhere is order, method, and cleanliness, and it is very difficult
+to realise that a quarter of a century ago only three trading houses
+stood on the site of this prosperous and well-regulated little town. In
+the evening we dined with the Governor General who has both a good cook
+and butler; the wines being excellent. Outside, the band of the Force
+Publique played selections of music, rendered the more interesting by
+the fact that not one of the players could read a note of music and each
+learnt his part entirely by ear. Most of the guests were our fellow
+travellers and well known to us. The conversation turned upon the
+Sleeping Sickness, Beri Beri, the difficulty of growing wheat in the
+Congo, and the climate. It is not very hot in Boma about this time, for
+it is the winter or dry season and the nights are so cold that only the
+very hardy mosquitoes are sufficiently wide awake to prevent people
+sleeping. Still it is hotter, than we ever experience in England, and
+with forethought for the comfort of his guests, Mr. Costermans usually
+commands white costumes instead of European dress.
+
+The native hospital is a newly-built stone and brick structure and is
+under the charge of an Italian, Dr. Zerbini. The wards are well arranged
+in separate wings, permitting good ventilation and isolation. The beds
+are iron with bamboos stretched lengthwise, thus forming a kind of
+spring mattress. There are many cases of Sleeping Sickness in the
+hospital exhibiting various symptoms. In the early stages the patient
+has many fits of emotional excitement and these alternate with periods
+of physical and mental languor. Afterwards he lies for weeks or months
+as if dead and can only be persuaded to eat with great difficulty.
+Ultimately complete coma supervenes. A motile bacillus has been
+discovered which is supposed to cause the disease and there is evidence
+that this may be carried by a mosquito or fly, but until the discoveries
+of the doctors, sent out by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine,
+are published, it is premature to give an opinion. Up to the present
+many remedies have been prescribed without success. There is no small
+pox and little phthisis, and it is interesting to learn that
+appendicitis is unknown in Africa. Rupture is very common among the
+natives and venereal diseases are frequent.
+
+As I was destined to become well acquainted with the _Croix rouge_, the
+hospital for Europeans, I will describe this institution later. On the
+reverse slope of the central hill of Boma are the quarters of the army,
+the Force Publique. The soldiers are fine looking fellows with a very
+pretty uniform; blue wide cut breeches to the knee, the legs and feet
+being bare, blue shirt with red facings and belt, and a red fez. They
+are armed with Albini rifles, a very strong weapon which will stand any
+amount of rough usage. Everything is scrupulously clean and the married
+quarters especially look very comfortable. Each couple has a room fitted
+with bed, table and chairs. They are recruited from all over the country
+and the service is so popular that in many parts far more men volunteer
+to serve than are required. The force does not exceed 13,600 in number
+and is recruited for long or short service.
+
+The prison is situated on the plateau in an open, airy place. The
+building is constructed of iron plates and the separate cells and rooms
+are lofty and clean. There are one or two Europeans here who have been
+sentenced for theft or for cruelty to natives, for the State is
+determined that all its subjects should be well treated. These are of
+course kept entirely separate from the natives. Only the natives who
+have been sentenced to more than one year are sent here and then after a
+time they are forwarded to the penal settlements. Some are cannibals,
+but most are thieves, and all wear light chains. It is somewhat warm
+walking about Boma but there is no alternative, for there are no
+carriages and only a horse or two for the Governor General. The State
+regulates very strictly the importation of arms. Permission has to be
+obtained from the Governor General before any fire arms can be landed;
+then each one is stamped on the butt with the Star of the State and a
+number which is registered. If anyone in the country wishes to purchase
+a weapon from another, both buyer and seller have to obtain permission
+from the Governor General. These laws are very excellent for they
+effectually keep modern weapons out of the hands of the natives. Having
+complied with the regulations and declared our ammunition, our rifles
+and guns are restored to us with pretty little souvenir marks on the
+butts. We next apply for a special licence to shoot big game, and this
+is promised, but as it takes time to prepare will be sent up country
+after us.
+
+The import duly on alcohol is very heavy and runs up to 47 per cent. _ad
+valorem_ and no still of any kind is permitted to be set up in the
+country. Beyond Matadi indeed, special permission has to be obtained
+before Europeans can carry any spirituous liquors, and then they have to
+declare that it is not for sale to the natives. Heads of commercial
+houses are made responsible for the observance of this law by their
+employes and the State officials themselves are only permitted to have
+three litres of spirits each month, while absinthe is entirely
+prohibited. Every white man, however, is given one litre of red wine
+each day as a ration and there seems to be no limit to the amount of
+beer which may be drunk, except its great price, for a bottle of lager
+costs 3 francs at Leopoldville and twice that amount higher up the
+river.
+
+It is indeed becoming apparent that the Government is a veritable parent
+and a stern one also. However, as we promise to be good boys we are
+permitted to carry a few cases of whisky and wine--after paying the
+duty--to act as _medical comforts_. in case of sickness. These medical
+comforts are also a feature of the State, each white being allowed a
+bottle or two of champagne and port every three months. Every official
+indeed receives much kindness and consideration from the State but is
+severely punished any lapse of duty. The whites are fined for
+carelessness or negligence, by stopping their pay for a certain number
+of days, and for serious offences any official may be revocated, when he
+will perhaps lose six months' or even a years' pay. Offences against the
+penal laws are of course punished by imprisonment.
+
+An excellent institution in Boma is the _colonie scolaire_ where
+foundlings are reared and educated. Orphans, deserted children,
+half-castes, all are received and trained for some useful purpose, some
+entering the army, some engaging on the plantations, some becoming
+servants to the officials.
+
+It is impossible to form any idea of the Congo native in Boma, for the
+blacks are of very different nationalities. Natives from Lagos,
+Sierra-Leone, Portuguese and French territory, all are attracted by the
+high wages to be earned in the town. Indeed at present most of the
+positions of responsibility, requiring a fair education, are held by
+foreign blacks, for very few true Congolese can be trusted. The personal
+servants we engaged were thus all foreigners in the State service. Two
+rejoiced in the names of Chikaia and Jean, and acted as _boys_. _i.e._ as
+valets, butlers and general servants while Luembo was cook, and Mavunga,
+washerman. Each one had a formal contract of five articles signed by us,
+by a delegate for the Governor General, and by the Judge of Premiere
+Instance, whose duty it was to see the contract was not broken. The
+State indeed, superintends everything even to the finding and engaging
+of private servants for travellers. The wages earned by these boys are
+very much higher than servants receive in India or China. The cook was
+paid 35 francs and the others 25 francs per month and all found.
+
+The Customs, the Post Office, and the Land Office, are all conveniently
+situated in one building on the beach near to the landing pier. In the
+latter, all the landowners in the State are registered, careful maps
+being prepared showing the extent and position of each plot of land. The
+land laws are very simple. The villages are the absolute freehold
+property of the natives, and are registered in the names of the Chiefs.
+Vacant lands as usual are the property of the State and the Chartered
+Companies, Missionaries, and Traders, as a rule, are annual leaseholders
+but the lease is always renewed if the conditions on which it is granted
+are observed.
+
+On Sunday we lunched with the Governor General, Mr. Gohr, the Director
+of Justice--who at present is in the unenviable position of having many
+critics in Europe, usually imperfectly informed of the details and
+evidence laid before the judges--Mr. Vandamme, who knows everyone and
+everything connected with the State, Commandant and Madame Sillye, Judge
+and Madame Webber, and some others. Afterwards, Mr. Webber, the Judge of
+the Court of Premiere Instance, who is an excellent pianist, gives us
+proof of his talent. This is the last pleasant music we are fated to
+hear for many a month, for nothing but concertinas and gramophones are
+found in the interior.
+
+[Illustration: THE CATARACTS RAILWAY NEAR MATADI.]
+
+Having obtained bundles of permits to do various things, and arranged
+for letters and parcels to be sent after us into the interior, we left
+Boma on the morning of July 19th for Matadi in the _Leopoldville_.. The
+Congo just above Boma somewhat resembles the Highlands of Scotland, and
+the similarity was emphasised by the fact that it was raining hard.
+The hills were bare of trees, the current ran rapidly, forming
+whirlpools, while many sleepy crocodiles lazily flopped into the water
+as we passed. After ascending some twenty miles, the river turns sharply
+to the right and runs between cliffs which descend sheer into the water,
+forming a narrow chasm not more than half a mile broad. As the whole of
+the immense volume of water in the Congo has to pass through this gorge,
+it is enormously deep and the current is very rapid. The depth has not
+been accurately ascertained, but it is certainly 500 feet, if not more,
+and the flow of the water is at the rate of nearly ten knots an hour, so
+that the smaller steamers cannot ascend at all, and the larger only
+creep slowly up.
+
+[Illustration: THE RAILWAY STATION AT MATADI.]
+
+Matadi is soon after in sight. It is built on the south side of the
+Congo valley, for, as a glance at the map will explain, the State owns
+both banks at this point, but further up, the river becomes the frontier
+with the French Congo. Matadi is an ancient--if the word may be used in
+connection with the Congo at all--settlement, constructed at the point
+where navigation on the river is interrupted by cataracts and rapids for
+some two hundred miles until smooth water is reached again at Stanley
+Pool. A caravan route runs from Matadi to Leopoldville, and it was
+during the march of twenty days over the mountains that in the early
+days, so much trouble was occasioned by the native porters. All this is
+abolished now by the railway. The town itself stands on the side of a
+steep hill and consists of narrow streets paved with cobbles. Here as
+usual in the Congo, man is restricted to his primeval method of
+locomotion. Two iron piers jut into the stream and at their ends the
+European steamers discharge their cargoes into the railway trucks
+alongside. High up on the hill stands a capacious stone structure, the
+house of the Commissioner of the Matadi District, Mr. De Rache, with
+whom we dine, after arranging to leave by the train which starts next
+day. The distance to be traversed is 220 miles and the fare is L8 each
+1st. class and L1 second for the boys. Besides this, baggage over a
+hundred kilos, is charged at the rate of one franc a kilo, which is
+probably the highest rate paid for railway travelling in the world. Our
+fares indeed cost us about L80.
+
+Early in the morning of the 20th, we leave Matadi. The train consists of
+two engines, two open covered carriages for the second class passengers,
+who are mostly natives, a saloon and baggage wagon. The gauge is a very
+narrow one, so space is all-important, but the man who designed the
+chairs in the saloon must have exercised the most fiendish ingenuity to
+make them as uncomfortable as possible. There are six on each side,
+arranged in pairs with a small bracket table in between, and each one is
+on a pivot. The back is straight upright and the seat is of cane,
+cone-shaped, the highest point being in the centre. Now as the curves
+and gradients of the line are very sharp indeed, it is necessary to hold
+fast the whole time, to prevent slipping on to the floor. If one puts a
+foot on the opposite seat to steady oneself, it at once revolves,
+leaving the leg in mid air. However, we fix ourselves in as well as
+possible and enjoy the magnificent scenery. For a few hundred yards the
+line runs along the valley of the Congo and a good view of the lowest
+cataract is obtained, the brown water dashing over the rocks and
+throwing up spray which is converted into brilliant jewels by the
+youthful sun not yet an hour old. Then turning sharply to the right, the
+train runs up the valley of the Posu, a mountain torrent which rushes
+and roars through a narrow defile. Snorting angrily, the engines climb
+up this steep gradient, cross the river by an iron bridge and then
+groaning under the brakes, slide down into another valley. The main
+direction however, is upwards, and as the country opens out below, one
+gets a first impression of the enormity and grandeur of Central Africa.
+As far as the eye reaches, are ranges of hills, the Palabala Mountains
+crowned by a great cone which appears first on one side then the other,
+as we cork-screw our way up. The line indeed is a marvel of engineering
+construction, for a most difficult piece of country is traversed without
+a single tunnel and with very few cuttings and embankments. The length
+of the railway is, of course, very much greater than a straight line
+would be between the same points, for it frequently countermarches
+backwards and forwards up a hill side, and after a detour of perhaps a
+quarter of a mile, comes back to the same place, but thirty or forty
+feet higher up. The company which undertook the task of building the
+line met with many difficulties, but finished it at a cost of L3,000,000
+and many native lives. It was built between the years 1891 and 1897 and
+the workmen were recruited from Senegal and the British Colonies of
+Africa. Frequent stops are necessary for the engines to drink and gain
+their second winds, for their work here is very arduous. After two or
+three hours, however, a plateau is reached and the line runs for miles
+through dense forests of palms, acacias and _parasol_ trees (native
+Motumbi). The name exactly describes these trees, for the branches are
+arranged like the ribs, and the leaves spread out and form the covering
+of the sunshade.
+
+Between the belts of forests the country is covered with coarse grass,
+six or seven feet high, dotted here and there with palms. No vestige of
+animal life is visible and only a few natives who are engaged on the
+railway. These inhabit villages near at hand, formed of huts built of
+reeds or bamboo and thatched with grass. The men wear a loin cloth only,
+but the women are wrapped in a plain piece of richly coloured cloth
+which reaches from the neck to the ankle leaving the arms and feet bare.
+This is evidently a simple length of stuff some three or four feet wide
+and, to the masculine eye at least, its method of support remains a
+mystery, for no trace of button, hook or pin is apparent. Their faces
+are of the negroid type with broad noses and thick lips and the figures
+of the women approach the shape of an S reversed thus [backwards S] and
+are similar to those which our American cousins have so largely
+developed. The men are as a rule thin and tall with very long legs and
+all appear to have only small arches to their feet. On the lower Congo
+however, there are many foreigners and several other types are visible.
+As far as one can judge by the railway cuttings, the soil on the plateau
+is coarse sand and gravel containing iron and quite unsuitable for
+agricultural purposes under such a hot sun. The air however, as we
+approach Tumba, about 2000 feet above sea level, is dry and fresh and at
+4 p.m. we halt there for the night.
+
+We are met by Commandant Delhaz, the Commissaire of the Cataracts
+District, who kindly places a bungalow at our disposal for the night and
+shows us round the settlement. There is only a small native village
+here, but large barracks consisting of lines of clean, clay huts
+constructed by the soldiers. Tumba is indeed an important military
+centre and here again the appearance of the troops is very fine as they
+march to the strains of the band which renders snatches from _Faust_,
+_Carmen_ and other well known airs with a few native variations. A farm
+has been established in the neighbourhood to feed the garrison and an
+automobile road is in course of construction.
+
+Next morning, we dress by candle light and make a hasty breakfast, in
+the midst of which, at 6 a.m., reveille sounds and the troops assemble
+in the square in front of the Residency. Half an hour afterwards, the
+train starts, and having perched ourselves on the summits of the seats,
+we soon reach Sonna Gongo the half-way house for travellers of the
+future. Here is a depot for locomotives and carriages and wooden hotels
+are being constructed to accommodate travellers who, after August, will
+stop here for the night instead of at Tumba.
+
+Leaving Sonna Gongo, the line rapidly searches for a lower level and the
+view is magnificent, as a great endless expanse of land is unfolded.
+Here and there are banks of smoke caused by the veldt fires and often
+close to the railway the high dry grass has been lighted by a chance
+spark from an engine, and is burning furiously. We now zigzag down hill
+instead of up and far beneath, can be seen the thin line of rails
+glistening in the sun like fillets of silk. Having reached this level,
+we plunge through inviting looking forests at one time full of
+elephants, buffaloes and other game, but practically deserted now save
+by monkeys and parrots.
+
+Soon after the train stops at a station where the natives have assembled
+to sell fruit and kwanga, a kind of bread made from the flour of the
+manioc root and the chief article of native diet. It consists chiefly of
+starch and is not unpleasant when fresh and toasted. The natives
+however, prefer all food in a high stage of decomposition and it is some
+time before the very smell of it ceases to make one feel ill. To see
+them eating kwanga fish or the flesh of elephants, monkeys, antelopes or
+other animals generally both rotten and raw is most disgusting and
+brings home the fact sharply that man here is of a very low type.
+
+The oranges the natives sell are very acid, more resembling grape-fruit
+than the orange of Florida, but the bananas are as good as any in the
+world and the pine apples--three of which can be bought for half a
+franc--are equal to the finest hot-house variety.
+
+[Illustration: THE STEAMER _FLANDRE_.]
+
+The line now descends again until it reaches a flat hot, sandy and
+uninteresting plain across which it runs absolutely straight for seven
+miles until it reaches Kinshasa on the South bank of Stanley Pool. A few
+miles further on, is the rail head, Leopoldville. Like everything else
+in the Congo, this town has been arranged and built for practical use.
+The railway runs along the beach so as to facilitate the loading and
+unloading of the steamers of the upper river, and in a very short time
+all our baggage is taken from the train and carried straight on board
+the _Flandre_ where we find cabins booked for us. This is an excellent
+arrangement and saves much trouble, for although the steamer does not
+sail for two days, passengers are allowed to live on board while in
+port. Indeed it is very necessary, for there are no hotels in the town,
+and no accommodation for visitors except a few rooms in the commercial
+houses.
+
+Some traits of the native's character were now to be demonstrated to us.
+His main idea always is, to do as little work as possible and he will
+often take the greatest trouble in his effort to accomplish this object.
+Each native endeavoured to put his load as near the gangway as possible
+which was soon blocked and then he had to come back, hoist the package
+on his head again and carry it to its proper place. Although this
+performance took place every day, unless an officer was constantly on
+the watch, the foolish fellows in their attempts to shirk duty brought
+upon themselves extra work. The cabins were unfurnished, for everyone
+carries his own bed on the Congo, and most also their own tent. It was
+therefore necessary to unpack a bed. Here was a difficulty. All the bags
+and boxes were carefully numbered by the Army and Navy Stores and the
+invoice no doubt sent to my London address but I left before it arrived,
+and there was no possibility of discovering which number meant bed.
+Seizing a likely looking bale, the boys unlace it, and find a part of a
+tent, and a second attempt brings to light another part of a tent. It is
+now growing dark and a light is necessary, but in which of these seventy
+odd cases is the lamp? Not knowing the native mind, I explain that it is
+necessary to hurry and find the bed before dark. This evidently conveys
+no meaning at all to the boys, for in the first place it was not their
+bed and so it mattered nothing to them, and in the second, they had
+never hurried before in their lives, and could not do so now, even if
+they wished. Lacing the first bales up slowly and deliberately, they
+open another and find a canvas bath and washhandstand. These are at any
+rate useful, and encouraged by success we try again and come across
+hand-irons and starch. At length we find a thing like a large concertina
+which is really a folding bed with pillows and blankets, complete. By
+great good luck a mosquito curtain is then found and the steward kindly
+lends a candle.
+
+Hot, sticky, tired and cross we prepare for our first meal on a Congo
+steamer. It consisted of a soup of mystery, chicken, which had been
+washed in the river close to a group of natives bathing and a goat,
+killed an hour before dinner, whose flesh was thrown quivering into the
+pot. However, there was some bread and tinned peaches and it was no use
+being fastidious in Central Africa. This was washed down with the
+regulation half litre of red wine, a kind of claret which is quite
+drinkable and some native coffee which had a delicate and fine aroma,
+but was badly made.
+
+The captain--as indeed are nearly all the officers of the river
+steamers--was a Scandinavian and spoke English very well. He explained
+that the ship was not very clean or inviting-looking, which was the
+truth, but as the lower deck was lumbered up with the horses of
+Commandant Sillye and was swarming with natives, it was only to be
+expected.
+
+Then to bed, but not to sleep, for the boys to save themselves trouble,
+had not fixed the mosquito net properly. In my innocence I merely
+ordered them to do it and had not stood by and watched. It is indeed
+necessary always to see that the native does as he is told, for the
+moment one's back is turned, he is eating if there is anything rotten
+enough at hand to tempt him and if not, he quietly goes to sleep. Even
+these State servants who speak the native language and also a kind of
+French, really live the lives of animals, for they eat, drink, and sleep
+if left alone and only work when they are shown how, and watched all the
+time.
+
+The result was that I spent a most horrible night, for the mosquitoes
+were terribly hostile and evidently recognised a new European with some
+healthy blood. In the morning, my head, which I had had shaved in the
+Congo fashion, was covered with large bumps and face, neck, hands and
+wrists were all blotches. It was therefore with little appetite that I
+sat down to a breakfast of bread, dutch cheese, curious tinned butter
+and weak coffee without milk. Little however, did I think then that in
+six short months a Congo steamer would seem like a first class hotel, so
+entirely is everything altered by comparison.
+
+[Illustration: CATARACTS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Higher Congo.
+
+
+Next day we make a formal call on Mr. Mahieu, Inspecteur d'Etat of the
+Congo State, whose headquarters are at Leopoldville. He is a very busy
+man with a multitude of duties, for the paternal system is continued all
+through the State and the most trivial matters are always referred to
+the highest official in the neighbourhood. As we are to lunch at the
+Residency, we do not stay long, but take a ride with Commandant and Mme.
+Sillye on four of the horses the former purchased at Dakar. Although a
+little stiff after their holiday of a month, they have not been
+otherwise affected by their sea voyage and two days in the train. Along
+the beach are many steamers charging and discharging and others on the
+slips being repaired or partly built. These steamers are all brought out
+in sections and put together on the beach. They are flat bottomed, are
+driven by stern wheels and only draw three or four feet of water. They
+all burn wood, and special depots are formed at intervals on the rivers
+where stores of this fuel are collected. Should however, a steamer run
+short, it is only necessary to stop and send the crew ashore with knives
+for the banks are lined with forest.
+
+Leaving the beach we ride through avenues of palms and mango trees to
+higher ground, whence a beautiful view can be obtained of Stanley Pool.
+This is really a part of the river about sixteen miles wide, shut in by
+hills on each side, but its size is not apparent from the water itself,
+as a great number of islands cut the stream into numerous narrow
+channels. Towards the south, the river narrows again and at this point
+is the uppermost of the cataracts, the water hurling itself against the
+rocks in its efforts to escape and recoiling in spray high into the air.
+From just below Leopoldville all the way to Matadi, the river indeed
+rushes down narrow gorges, but above, for nearly a thousand miles, it is
+navigable for steamers. On a hill above the rapid, is a large tree under
+which Stanley pitched his tent and which still bears his name.
+
+Many native villages exist near Leopoldville, consisting of huts formed
+of wooden frames and thatched with grass. There are no plantations or
+factories here but great numbers of natives are at present employed in
+road making and in constructing a new slip for launching the steamers.
+Evidently our little party gives rise to much comment for several of
+the natives have probably never seen a horse before, and a cavalcade of
+four of these strange animals is something entirely new. On our way back
+to the ship we pass down the main street in which are the administrative
+offices, the mess, the doctors' and other private houses and close to
+the beach, the Residency, over which flies the State flag and in front
+of which patrols a sentry. At first one thought the sentry in front of
+the chief official's house in each town, was merely a symbol of
+authority as in Europe, afterwards however, it becomes apparent that the
+system of Government in the Congo is based on absolute uniformity. Every
+Post, however big or small, has its State flag and every chief official,
+from the Governor to the chief of a Wood Post, has a sentry at his door.
+Each morning at sunrise the flag is hoisted, while the guard presents
+arms and every evening at sunset it is lowered with like ceremony.
+Indeed, the whole system is military, for everyone rises, works, eats
+and sleeps at the command of the clarion. It is a custom at most
+official and private parties in the Congo, to hand round port wine and
+cigars before sitting down to table. At first this seemed a strange kind
+of _aperative_., but soon the glass of port became very agreeable after
+the morning's work.
+
+Ten or twelve guests were assembled on the verandah when we arrived, and
+soon Mr. Armarni joined the group. He is an Italian, an ex-naval officer
+of distinction and now Commissaire du Roi of the Congo, a position which
+ranks with, but after, that of Governor General. By a simple and
+practical device, the relative rank of all the Administrative and
+Military officials can be determined at a glance. Each wears a blue
+gauntlet on each wrist and forearm over the white sleeve of his coat and
+affixed on this are a number of gold bands. A captain of a river
+steamer, perhaps has three or four bands, a Chef de Poste, four or five,
+a Commissaire of a Zone or District, seven or eight, an Inspecteur
+d'Etat, nine or ten, and the Governor General, eleven. In order however,
+to economise space and perhaps to facilitate counting, when more than
+three stripes are worn, a broad strip is substituted which corresponds
+to the original three. Thus an official with five stripes wears one
+broad and two narrow ones, while the Governor General wears three broad
+stripes and two narrow ones. The chief decoration, the order of the
+Lion, can only be gained by Belgians, but the Congo Star is given to all
+after a certain term of service. Those who hold purely civil
+appointments such at Judges, Secretaries and Directors of Transport,
+wear no stripes at all.
+
+At 2.30 p.m. a bugle sounded and a chattering throng of natives hurried
+past the Inspector's house towards the beach to resume work, which is
+always interrupted for three hours at 11.30 a.m. during the heat of the
+day. In order to feed these people and the soldiers of the Force
+Publique at Leopoldville, about a ton and a half of kwanga is prepared
+every day from the manioc grown in the villages around, and every able
+bodied native has to contribute his or her quota of work. Each person
+indeed is supposed to work for at least forty hours each month, and
+whether engaged on roads, buildings, or other public work, or in
+collecting rubber, wood for the steamers, or kwanga for food, is paid at
+the current rate. The principle of the system of Government, although
+entirely novel, is undoubtedly sound and suited to the country and the
+condition of the native. The whole territory is divided into two great
+parts, the lands of the native chiefs and the vacant lands called here
+the Domaine Prive. The Government has however, disposed of part of these
+to Concessionary Companies in this sense, that the Companies have the
+right to exploit all the products of the forest in these areas. Other
+portions have been leased to Missions, to Commercial Houses and to
+private people. The Government collects the rubber, ivory, food stuffs,
+and other produce from the Domain Lands and with the proceeds,
+constructs roads, navigates the rivers, maintains the Government and
+army and generally develops the country and civilises the natives.
+
+Trading relations are formed with the chiefs as follows: Agents are sent
+into their districts with brass wire, cloth, salt, beads, or other
+things likely to attract the natives, and these are exchanged for
+rubber, ivory, gum copal, manioc, fish, fowl or other produce; thus the
+value of rubber, ivory or any other substance is determined in terms of
+brass wire, cloth or salt and so its value in sterling. Similarly, the
+value of native labour is discovered and the native paid accordingly.
+The brass wire is cut into lengths called mitakos, this form of currency
+having been introduced by the late Sir H.M. Stanley. The length of the
+mitako, and so its value, varies in different parts of the country. At
+present there seems to be no limit to the amount of wire cut into
+mitakos, but as the natives use great quantities to make brass rings for
+the arms and legs of both sexes, it is difficult to say to what extent
+the currency is being debased. The pay of skilled labour here is high,
+and unskilled workers receive about as much as similar labourers in
+India. The natives pay no taxes in money or its equivalent, but instead
+are compelled to do this 40 hours' work per month for the State.
+
+In the afternoon we cross the neck of Stanley Pool and visit
+Brazzaville, the capital of the French Congo. The town is situated close
+to the beach, but the Government offices are high up on a hill above.
+Having found the Secretariat, we explain that we are British travellers
+and desire to pay our respects to the Governor. The Secretary telephones
+as we wait in the office and presumably the Governor asks whether we
+have introductions and what we want, for the answer goes back _Non, ils
+sont venus, Pop!!!_ However, the Governor, Mr. Gentil, who has spent
+many years in the Congo, receives us very kindly, offers to help us with
+steamers on the river, gives us some letters of introduction to French
+officials on the Ubangi and permits to shoot game. Every where indeed
+one meets with kindness, help and consideration from the officials in
+Africa, which is in marked contrast to the hide bound system of
+formalities which it is necessary to observe and maintain in Europe.
+
+[Illustration: STEAMERS AND DOCKS AT LEOPOLDVILLE.]
+
+A great blowing of the steamer's whistle now takes place, for it is
+getting late and it is impossible to navigate the Congo after sunset.
+The captain is therefore becoming anxious, but enough light remains to
+see the buoys and we reach Leopoldville soon after 6 p.m. We have
+arranged to dine at the Mess, an excellent institution wherein all the
+Europeans of every rank, except the very highest officials, sit down
+together. The Commandant of the Force Publique, the Commandant of the
+Port, the Directors of Transports and Posts, and the Doctors, all
+take their dinner with the working artisans. Altogether about 130 men
+attend the mess, where the cooking and service is excellent while each
+has a small bottle of wine and a cup of coffee. By this means, every man
+is ensured good wholesome food, and the necessity of restaurants, in
+which indiscriminate drinking might take place, is avoided.
+
+Next morning, July 23rd. the _Flandre_ leaves Leopoldville and steams to
+Kinshasa where we stop and land. Here as usual the keynote is
+development. Roads are being made, avenues of palms, mangoes and pine
+apples planted and store houses, factories and plantations constructed.
+At the coffee factory here, the beans are extracted from the shells,
+sorted into sizes and qualities and packed in bags. Many kinds of coffee
+have been planted in the Congo, but none are equal to the wild variety
+found in the forest, which is as good as any in the world when properly
+made. Near at hand is a brick field, where the bricks are made in metal
+moulds, the clay being forced in by long levers. They are not made as
+quickly as those fashioned by a machine but the process is a great
+improvement on the old-fashioned method of brick making in wooden
+moulds. It is already apparent that beer is regarded as a luxury here so
+we order some dozens at three francs a bottle and having taken some
+photos return to the ship.
+
+On the beach were some fine elephant tusks which have been collected by
+the agents of the _Societe Anonyme Belge_. When a native finds a pair of
+tusks in the territory of the company, the State takes one as a royalty
+and the company buys the other for a certain quantity of cloth. This
+only represents a fraction of the value in Europe, but is gladly
+accepted by the native who has no use for it except to make war horns.
+Indeed in the old days, the chiefs used to form a kind of fence round
+their huts by sticking the points in the ground, little thinking that in
+another part of the world, not even the millionaire of fiction ever
+constructed such an expensive railing. Then the Arab slave raiders came
+and stole both the native women and the ivory, so that the white man who
+gives beautiful coloured cloth for these useless elephants' tusks is
+regarded as a very generous trader. In the afternoon the _Flandre_
+continued her journey threading her way between the numerous islands in
+Stanley Pool, and finally tied up to the bank of the island of Bamu
+which is French territory. This island enjoys the distinction of being
+the only one in the Congo which has an owner, for all the rest are
+declared to be no man's land by international treaty. It is reputed to
+be full of game, and we go ashore to look for it, but return without
+seeing anything. As the mosquitoes prevent all sleep in the cabin, we
+arrange to make up a bed on deck and obtain a better night's rest, for
+it is comparatively cool here in the evening in the open.
+
+I am very anxious to bathe next morning, but the captain strongly
+disadvises for the currents are very strong here, and the river is full
+of crocodiles. In the midst of breakfast we are startled by the report
+that the ship is on fire, and smoke is seen to be issuing from the fore
+hatch, under which much of the wood used for fuel is stored. None of the
+Europeans however, are more excited than the natives, who, leisurely and
+with due deliberation, hand up buckets of water. Nothing indeed could
+make a native hurry. The captain seems a trifle upset, and states that
+it may be necessary to run on a rock, and thus make a hole in the bows
+and flood the hold. This seems to be rather a desperate remedy, but no
+one shows the slightest interest. This appeared curious at the time;
+since however, it has transpired that fires in the holds are of common
+occurrence, and that as the ships are all of iron, they usually burn
+themselves out without harming anything. Soon after however, the captain
+with an alarmed look, rushes up on deck and said that a terrible crime
+or a great mistake had been committed. It appeared that by some error,
+our cases of beer and some others belonging to Commandant Sillye had
+been left on the beach at Kinshasa. Immediately we anchored last night a
+native boatswain, or capita, was sent with six men in a canoe to fetch
+them and ought to have returned by midnight. Nothing however, was heard
+of the boat until now when the capita appeared and told a harrowing
+story. He found the cases all right and started to return across the
+river, but as it began to blow hard, he thought it better to make for
+land and wait until the morning before trying to find the ship. He
+succeeded in landing on the island of Bamu and soon after a white man
+appeared with some Senegalese soldiers and demanded to know what was in
+the cases. He explained, when the white man fired and killed all the
+crew, but he ran away and escaped. The affair seemed serious so Lord
+Mountmorres and Commandant Sillye left for Brazzaville to discover the
+truth, while I stayed on the ship to superintend the landing of our
+cargo if the fire extended.
+
+Soon after the Commandant of the Port of Leopoldville arrived in a
+steamer and asked if we wanted assistance as another ship had run on the
+rocks higher up and sunk and he was hastening to rescue any possible
+survivors. Sunday, July 24th indeed, seemed to be a veritable day of
+horrors, but still no one appeared at all excited. By midday the fire in
+the forehold was extinguished and thus one danger was removed. Later in
+the afternoon just before sunset, an immense flock of ducks and geese
+crossed the river, but as they were flying nearly a hundred feet up in
+the air, it was impossible to shoot them. Soon after Mountmorres and
+Sillye returned and reported they had found all the crew safe, except
+one man who had probably deserted and had also brought back the cases of
+beer. The white man was a French officer of Customs, who had naturally
+thought the crew of the canoe were engaged in smuggling and had fired
+blank cartridges to frighten them. So passed an eventful day with much
+smoke but little fire. It was indeed becoming apparent that the Congo
+was a true land of exaggerations. On all sides were great hills, great
+plains, great forests, great rivers, great beasts, great trees, and
+great lies.
+
+Next day we continued our course up Stanley-Pool, which meant threading
+our way up narrow channels between uninteresting sandbanks covered with
+forest or grass. In the distance could be seen the hills forming the
+boundaries of the Pool and at its upper end _Dover Cliffs_ so called
+from their resemblance to that part of the English coast. About midday
+we sighted the _Anversville_, the vessel which was supposed to have been
+sunk, comfortably lying on a sand bank, and the _Brugesville_ which had
+gone to her assistance, also resting on the same bank. One of the
+passengers came off to the _Flandre_ and told us that no one was hurt
+and all the baggage was safe and that he had heard we had been burnt
+out, attacked by natives and all killed. Truly the Congo is a wonderful
+place.
+
+As the _Flandre_ moors we decide to go ashore hunting. Within a few
+yards of the bank is the lair of a hippopotamus and the spoor of
+elephants. It is however, very difficult walking, for patches of land
+are covered with long grass seven or eight feet high and the rest is
+bog. After struggling along for a few minutes, I hear a curious noise
+like a very asthmatic fog horn not above five yards away. Nothing is
+however, visible, for the grass forms a complete cover. Again the grunt
+with a suspicious after-sniff and at the same moment Chikaia, who is
+carrying my gun snaps his fingers--the usual sign to indicate game--and
+beckons me to follow. I endeavour to do so, and at once sink in the bog
+up to the knees, but fortunately keep my rifle dry. By clutching the
+grass, I get out and we follow the spoor of the hippo as rapidly as
+possible. This is very clearly marked, for the grass has been recently
+thrust aside and there are great holes in the soft mud over a foot wide
+and deep, made by the great feet of the beast. These holes were in pairs
+lying close together, showing that the hippo was galloping as he passed
+and unfortunately they led straight to the river.
+
+Next day we leave the Pool and enter a part of the river called the
+Channel. Here there are no islands and both banks are visible all the
+time, the width not being more than a mile in some places. A low range
+of hills covered with acacias or coarse grass, exists on each side. As
+usual, we stop at a Wood Post to take fuel on board. This is cut in logs
+three or four feet long and stacked in heaps about the same in width and
+height. Sticks are placed in the ground connected by lines at the
+required height and the logs are laid in rows until the space is filled.
+The result is a cubic yard of wood known in the Congo as a _bras_, but
+the bras differs in size and price considerably, in some cases the cost
+being 5 mitakos and in others double that amount. A native can easily
+collect a bras of wood in the forest and carry it to the bank in a day
+and in some of the Wood Posts fifty or sixty natives are employed. Even
+then however, the demand for wood by the big steamers is sometimes
+greater than the supply.
+
+At 6 p.m. every day the steamer stops for the night and makes fast to a
+tree on the bank. All the native passengers at once go ashore, light
+fires and arrange their beds for the night. They sleep on mats or with
+the whole body, and head also, wrapped up closely in rugs. Either their
+feet or heads are always within a few inches of the fire and their
+bodies radiate out like the spokes of a wheel. Until 9.30 p.m., however,
+when all lights on the steamer must be put out, a ceaseless chatter
+proceeds with an occasional angry discussion as the natives take their
+meal of kwanga, fish, and any odd piece of meat they can procure. It is
+a somewhat weird sight, the black forms showing dimly in the ruddy light
+of the fires under the trees. The bell on the steamer rings the command
+and everyone goes to bed, and then one appreciates the real silence of
+the equatorial forest which one has heard about at home. Within a few
+yards, hundreds of frogs commence to croak loudly and continue steadily,
+with a few pauses to breathe, until daybreak. Hundreds of monkeys
+screech shrilly in the trees and millions of mosquitoes hum steadily
+within an inch or two of one's ears. All manner of animal cries are
+heard in the forest and the hippos blow loudly as they rise to the
+surface to breathe. As a matter of fact, the noise at midnight in the
+forest, when every beast, bird and insect is busy hunting for food, is
+greater than at any other time, and at midday only, one enjoys
+comparative quiet when all the animal kingdom is asleep.
+
+[Illustration: THE AMERICAN MISSION HOUSE AT LEOPOLDVILLE.]
+
+One evening I went ashore with Chikaia for a stroll on the beach,
+carrying only a gun. We soon found a number of ducks and as they had
+never been fired at before probably, they were not scared away by the
+noise of the gun, but kept wheeling round and round overhead affording
+very easy shots. It would indeed have been easy to shoot them all. There
+was, however, no reason to do so and having collected a couple or two to
+make a welcome change from the daily goat of the steamer, we started
+back when a fine antelope-cheval rushed from the wood across the sandy
+beach towards the water. Chikaia at once became very excited and wished
+me to fire, but it was useless, as the beast was more than a hundred
+yards away. It was satisfactory to find the boy was a keen sportsman,
+even though he did not appreciate the different capacities of a gun and
+a rifle. However, I made a mental note never to go, even for a casual
+stroll in Africa, without both weapons.
+
+On returning to the ship, we hear that the Captain's boy has killed a
+hippo and that dozens of others are waiting to be shot. We therefore
+determine to try some shooting by moonlight and Chikaia is delighted
+when he sees the _gras_ as he calls my Lee-Metford come out of its case.
+It is a beautiful night with clear, cool air. Streams of silver flow
+from the moon on the water, while the palms tower high with majestic
+crowns. Here we are in the very midst of real nature and yet again it
+unpleasantly recalls the scenery of a theatre. It is indeed
+extraordinary with what accuracy scenic artists construct tropical
+scenes. The surroundings tend to make one sentimental and regret that
+this veritable garden of Eden should be exploited to make billiard balls
+and rubber tyres for automobiles and bicycles. The native also, instead
+of hunting elephant and hippos, eating his fill and sleeping, and eating
+again and sleeping again until the carcase has disappeared and then
+hunting again, now has to collect rubber juice and cut wood for an ugly
+looking steam flat. Such however, is civilisation in the Congo.
+
+Spoor of elephants and hippos abound and the grunt of the latter can
+frequently be heard, but they are not sitting up on their haunches
+waiting to be shot. The clear, shrill chirp of the sentry bird is indeed
+warning the big beasts that something strange is moving and we shall
+have to lie still for a long while probably before getting a chance at
+the great heads as they are raised from the water.
+
+After a walk of about a mile, we arrive at the place where the captain's
+boy was supposed to have killed the hippo. The truth was he had _fired
+at_ a beast who, as the spoor clearly showed, had walked calmly into the
+river and not a trace of blood could be seen. After a time, with
+practice perhaps, one will be able to gauge the truth from an ordinary
+Congo statement.
+
+Next day we reach the mouth of the Kasai, a large tributary which drains
+much of the Equatorial District of the Congo. Here is a State Post,
+Kwamouth, with a few well constructed houses and a Catholic Mission
+where pretty walking sticks with ivory handles can be purchased and
+where the Fathers make a few cigars from Congo tobacco which are not at
+all bad smoking. A little further up the river, is the deserted Catholic
+Mission of St. Marie which has evidently been at one time well arranged
+with a large manioc plantation and garden. Here however, the Sleeping
+Sickness appeared and the mortality was so heavy that the place was
+abandoned. The disease had no doubt existed before, but it was this
+terrible epidemic which first attracted the serious notice of Europeans.
+
+It is becoming clear that there are a great number of nationalities
+represented in the Congo. Most of the political and military
+appointments are held by Belgians, but there are many Italian military
+officers also. Nearly all the marine are Scandinavians and the language
+of the river is therefore, chiefly English, although every State
+official must speak a certain amount of French. A few Germans also hold
+appointments, and the trading houses are run chiefly by English and
+Dutch, while there are missionaries of several nationalities. In the
+army, orders are given in French, but on the ships and in the stations,
+the native is commanded in a kind of jargon based on the Bangala
+dialect. The Danish captain of a Congo steamer thus as a rule, speaks,
+besides his own language, English, French and Bangala and can make
+himself understood in all.
+
+On pay day, rolls of brass wire are cut up into mitakos, which become
+longer the higher one travels up the river, this arrangement having been
+introduced by Stanley and never altered. Here the mitako is 28
+centimetres long and it is worth 5 cents, while at Basoko it is 40
+centimetres long and worth 10 cents. The native crew are paid three
+mitakos for their food per day which would purchase twice as much
+kwanga as they could possibly eat. The capitas and wheelman are also
+paid monthly wages which vary with the nature of their work.
+
+By July 28th we have passed through the Channel into a portion of the
+river which is very wide and has the appearance of a great lake studded
+with islands. The banks are invisible, for the country here is
+absolutely flat and continues so for many hundreds of miles until the
+Province Orientale is reached. Between these islands, which are usually
+well wooded, we pass slowly up the river, for the current is still
+strong although the surface of the water appears absolutely still and
+the light glares as from a mirror. Some of the islands are however, only
+covered with grass and a herd of buffaloes on one come charging down to
+the river to drink. Unfortunately one of the passengers fires a kind of
+saloon rifle, which might possibly have killed a rabbit at twenty yards,
+and frightens them back. This is a great pity, for if we had had time,
+we could easily have bagged one or two and had some fresh beef for
+dinner.
+
+At midday on the 29th we reach Mopolenga and stop for wood. The land in
+the neighbourhood is well cultivated and manioc, sweet potatoes, bananas
+and pineapples flourish. The manioc plant has a green stem, reddish
+branches and green leaves arranged in clusters of six which turn
+downwards forming the shape of a parasol, evidently a popular, as it is
+an appropriate, pattern for vegetable life in this hot country. The root
+of the manioc yields the flour, which is made into kwanga and unless it
+is well boiled, is supposed to be very injurious. The animals here
+consist chiefly of monkeys, parrots and finches, but many ducks fly from
+a swamp near the water.
+
+In the afternoon we reach Bolobo, the head quarters of the Baptist
+Mission, which is presided over by Mr. Grenfell, a missionary who has
+resided for over twenty years in the Congo. He has taught the natives to
+make bricks and build houses and has erected a Mission Hall, a hospital
+and a printing house. The mission enclosure is well laid out with mango
+trees and other useful fruits and many fat ducks and fowls pass a
+contented existence there. Unfortunately Mr. Grenfell was not at home,
+but we were fortunate in finding Mr. Scrivener, another missionary, who
+has resided some years in Africa. He stated that the natives were
+emigrating from the District of Lake Leopold, which lies behind Bolobo
+and is Domain Land, because they were forced to collect rubber and were
+flogged if they refused. He had never himself seen a native who had been
+ill treated, but had been told so by natives. Asked whether the people
+were ever mutilated, Mr. Scrivener looked very surprised and answered
+"Oh no, there is nothing of that kind now!"
+
+Bolobo is very populous and many natives flocked down to the beach
+immediately the steamer arrived and at once held an outdoor market on
+the beach selling manioc, fish, clothes, pots of various kinds and other
+articles to the crew and passengers. A Congo flat fish of the perch
+family is found here, smoke dried and sold for food and is very good
+eating indeed.
+
+Two of the crew were _chicotted_. to-day by order of the captain. One had
+attacked another boy with a knife and wounded him and the other had
+stolen, and then falsely blamed another. The _chicotte_ is a plain
+strip of hippo hide and the punishment was administered publicly by the
+capita on the bridge of the steamer and did not appear to be more
+painful than an ordinary birching at a public school.
+
+At 10 p.m. we decide to take the big iron boat of the steamer and go
+hunting. The natives are exceedingly skilful and know all the likely
+places for hippo. They first paddle hard up stream and having arrived at
+the hunting ground allow the boat to drift down with the current in
+perfect silence. It is clear moonlight, but it is necessary to cover the
+fore sight of the rifle with white paper in order to see it clearly.
+After a time, up rises a great head with a great pant and there is just
+time for a shot before it sinks again. Hippos frequent shallow water and
+are indifferent swimmers. They walk about on the bottom and rise at
+intervals to breathe. It is thus impossible to know in which direction a
+beast will next appear or whether he will come up under the boat and
+capsize it. This night there were great numbers and we had excellent
+sport. One shot in the head is sufficient to kill a hippo which then
+sinks and the body does not rise again for some hours. One unfortunate
+animal was however, shot in the back and rearing straight up on his hind
+legs rushed for some yards in that attitude until a second shot in the
+head put him out of his misery.
+
+Next day we reach Lukolela, a Wood Post and telegraph station. The line
+runs along the bank all the way from Leopoldville to Coquilhatville and
+was very difficult to erect. A space had to be cleared in the forest
+nearly two hundred feet wide and the line erected in the centre on iron
+posts, so that any falling trees would not destroy it. At first, the
+elephants strongly resented these novel posts and frequently knocked
+them down as easily as if they had been nine pins, but have since become
+used to them. At Lukolela there is excellent teak wood which is
+fashioned into doors and windows and shipped to various places ready for
+building. The nights are quite cool, although we are near the Equator
+and the heat in the day time is not nearly as oppressive as it is at
+Aden or Shanghai in the summer. Cultivation is much more advanced here
+than in the lower Congo and the physique of the natives is remarkably
+fine.
+
+The navigation of the river here becomes very difficult, for the water
+is shallow at this season of the year and there are many sand banks
+which frequently change their position. Charts are therefore,
+practically useless and each skipper has to feel his way each voyage.
+Indeed, the whole time two boys sit on the bows of the vessel with long
+poles sounding the water and shouting out the depth. It is curious that
+when the vessel is travelling in shallow water, the engines at once go
+slow of their own accord. One of the engineers explained that this
+phenomena was produced by the difficulty the wheels experienced in
+dragging away, so to speak, the water from under the ship when there was
+little depth. Still the ships, frequently run on the banks, but as they
+are flat bottomed, are not usually injured. The method of mooring is
+very rudimentary although practical. One of the crew jumps overboard
+with a steel rope, swims ashore and makes it fast to a tree. All of them
+are expert swimmers and seem to enjoy their frequent dips, and as their
+clothes consist of a loin cloth only, they do not require to undress.
+
+On August 1st at sunset we reach Irebu, an exceedingly beautiful place.
+An avenue of palms stretches parallel to the river and about twenty
+yards from it the bank itself being fenced by white wooden rails. This
+leads to a large open square around which are the brick houses of the
+European officers. Beyond, along the river front, are more brick houses,
+the Mess and the Magazines, and gardens are laid out the whole length of
+the town. This is one of the large military training centres, where
+about a dozen officers prepare more than a thousand recruits for the
+Force Publique.
+
+In the evening the place was illuminated by very simple, but effective,
+means. Stakes were driven into the ground and on each was placed a tin
+which presumably had contained condensed milk. These were filled with
+palm oil and pieces of wood to serve as wicks. The mosquitoes here are
+very bad indeed and it is necessary to take quinine every day to
+counteract the effects of their poison.
+
+At daybreak next morning most of the troops were exercising in the
+square and their precision and manoeuvring were really marvellous. Any
+European colonel might indeed be proud to hear such a single click as
+his regiment shouldered arms. The officers state that the natives attend
+very carefully all the time for the word of command and act very quickly
+after it is given. The native corporals evidently make good instructors
+and the raw recruit is soon converted into a smart and responsible
+soldier. This military education is certainly the best that could be
+given to a savage; it teaches him punctuality, regularity, obedience and
+collective responsibility; it shows him how to build houses and keep
+them clean and it gives him an idea of justice for he knows he will be
+punished for wrong doing. The soldier therefore soon becomes an
+altogether different person and realises that he is no longer an
+animal-man living wild in the forest, but a soldier-man and a friend of
+the great _Bulamatadi_. who governs the country. What we may call the
+caste feeling has indeed contributed greatly to civilising the country.
+Anyone who is brought into direct contact with the whites as a soldier,
+a worker in the plantation or on the roads, soon feels that he is
+superior to the wild bushman and then becomes more attached to his new
+master than to his own cousins. It is rather amusing to hear the native
+domestics or _boys_. who probably rank higher than any other natives on
+the social ladder, speaking of the _indigenes_. with great contempt as
+though they were quite another and an inferior species. Speaking of
+_Bulamatadi_, it may be of interest to state the origin and meaning of
+the term--it means literally in the native tongue _one who breaks
+stones_. and was given to Stanley, when he blasted rocks to make roads
+the term being afterwards buried with him on his coffin. Since then it
+has been applied to all officials of the State and is used to connote
+anything and everything connected with the State. Thus the State side of
+the river is Bulamatadi, a State Post is Bulamatadi, a State steamer is
+Bulamatadi, anything indeed belonging to the State is Bulamatadi. White
+men traders and hunters, not State officials, are _mundellas_, but the
+native at once has a nick name for everyone which describes his chief
+characteristic. Lord Mountmorres usually wore long hunting boots and was
+named _big boots_. and as I wore eyeglasses, I became _double eyes_.
+
+We left Irebu on August 2nd and at once disturbed many crocodiles and
+hippos, which abound in this district. An unfortunate accident happened
+in the afternoon. One of the crew fell overboard and must have been
+drawn under the stern wheel and struck by a paddle, for he never
+re-appeared and no sign of the poor fellow could be found, although
+diligent search was made for a long time.
+
+Just before sunset a canoe comes alongside and fastens to the ship,
+although it is travelling at full speed. It is indeed wonderful to see
+the way the natives manipulate these narrow dug-outs not two feet wide.
+In this one were three fishermen with some fish which looked like trout
+for sale. At once a great clamouring takes place among the native
+passengers and it soon becomes plain that the chief fisherman was a good
+man of business. Having taken an empty bottle for one fish and a piece
+of cloth for another, he refused more of those articles and demanded
+either salt or mitakos for his goods. In a short time however, he had
+disposed of his cargo and paddled contentedly away.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVES OF THE UPPER CONGO.]
+
+The natives are very vain and take much trouble over their personal
+appearance. As their clothes are very simple this is concentrated on
+their tatooage and on their hair dressing. From a hopeless looking
+tangle of black tow a very pretty erection is created by the barbers who
+are of both sexes. Often the hair has five or six separate partings and
+quills or feathers are inserted into the ridges in between. All the
+women here wear a simple piece of cloth as they do in the Lower Congo
+and sometimes a plain leather belt is worn round the waist. The arms and
+legs are bare and covered with plain bangles made of mitakos. The women
+wear no hat of any kind, but the men ape the Europeans and appear in
+old helmets or straw hats. Both sexes are very clean personally, and
+bathe frequently in the river, but never dry themselves afterwards. The
+men keep on their loin cloths, but if they wear also shirts or trousers,
+take these off, while the women bathe in a white linen loin cloth and
+everyone afterwards pulls on his other clothes without drying. Many
+natives rub a red powder into the skin made from cam-wood and thus
+acquire a copper colour, while others paint their faces with various
+stripes of red, yellow or white. On the Congo however, where the natives
+are becoming civilised, this custom seems to be dying out.
+
+On August 3rd we cross the Equator marked by a post on one side of the
+river and the point of an island in the centre. Here used to be a
+settlement, but most of the people have moved higher up. There is still
+a Mission near the place and a good road runs along the bank between
+plantations of bananas and gardens to Coquilhatville which we reach in
+the afternoon.
+
+[Illustration: BOTANICAL GARDENS AT EALA.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+The Equator District.
+
+
+Coquilhatville, the capital of this important District is the largest
+town in the Upper Congo. The roads are formed by bamboos laid in rows,
+upon which sand and mud are placed the whole forming an effective
+pavement for foot passengers and no other is required for there are no
+carriages and only a few horses. All the officers don white uniforms
+with full dress, badges and medals, and together we proceed to make a
+formal call on Captain Stevens, the Commissaire of the District with
+whom is staying Mr. Malfeyt, Commissaire du Roi. Some of the officers
+take their dogs with them, which at once make a furious onslaught on
+the numerous cats of the Commissaire and have to be suppressed. Mgr.
+Derikx places a particularly pugnacious fox-terrier under the basket
+work of his chair the little animal being literally sat upon by the
+dignitary of the Church.
+
+The Residency is a large brick building situated on a low hill and
+raised above the ground, the space beneath being enclosed and
+loop-holed, thus forming a small fort. The gardens are particularly
+pretty and well kept. Beer is handed round and we sit chatting on the
+verandah until Mr. Grenfell, the head of the Baptist Mission, arrives.
+He has travelled up the river in the Mission Steamer from Bolobo and was
+on his way when we stopped at that place. As he has been in the Congo
+for more than twenty years, he knows the country well and thus speaks
+with authority. He thinks the system of Government excellent, but that
+it is administered better in the Lower than the Upper Congo, because
+there are not enough officials in the latter. He is convinced the
+population has greatly decreased on the riverside of the Bangala
+District, and attributes it chiefly to Sleeping Sickness for he cannot
+say if emigration to the French Congo has been extensive or not. No case
+of ill-treatment of natives has come to his notice during the last three
+years, but he thinks the State does not give them enough work to do. He
+has seen natives without hands, but does not believe that any atrocities
+have occurred for many years. Generally speaking, he thinks it would be
+better if the State acquired all the property of the Companies. Although
+he does not know of any definite cases of ill-treatment, he has heard
+reports and thinks there is "no smoke without fire." However, he is
+quite prepared to agree that a very little fire in the Congo makes a
+great deal of smoke. Altogether, Mr. Grenfell spoke very calmly, and is
+evidently not carried away by emotionalism or strong prejudice against
+the State.
+
+At Coquilhatville, as elsewhere in the State, the prisoners are given
+useful work to do. Near by a party were digging a hole by the roadway.
+They were chained together but the chain was so long that it did not
+hamper their movements. Two policemen were on guard, but the whole gang
+were evidently taking matters very easily.
+
+In the evening we dine with the Commissaire and a party of sixteen or
+eighteen, including many of our fellow travellers, Mr. Grenfell and Dr.
+Button, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who is here
+studying the Sleeping Sickness. Everyone we meet who has travelled in
+other countries and also visited the Congo, is astonished at the
+wonderful development of the place. It is indeed becoming more and more
+apparent that the State has gone ahead very fast and that the stress has
+been great, both for Europeans and natives. Probably, now the machine is
+fairly set rolling, it will proceed more steadily in the future.
+
+Next day we decide to leave the _Flandre_ and stay for a week or so at
+Coquilhatville. Commandant Ankstroem, the Adjoint Superieur to the
+Commissaire, kindly lends us his house and we at once move in, glad to
+leave the mosquitoes of the river and to sleep in a room once more.
+Everything in the house and garden is scrupulously clean and tidy,
+characteristics which I may add were found in nearly every Post and
+house in the whole country. The sanitary arrangements are the
+perfection of simplicity. There are no drains, but simple receptables
+which are emptied and cleaned every morning while carbolic acid is used
+liberally. This admirable system is carried out in every Post, however
+large or small, and I never once found it unobserved. The natives
+themselves are also very cleanly in their habits, so that although the
+heat is great and decomposition proceeds very rapidly, bad smells are
+absolutely unknown. Near the residency is a well kept farm and the
+mutton tasted particularly nice after the diet of goat on the steamer.
+
+The effect of the climate on my digestion is curious. In Europe all
+forms of starch and sugar give me indigestion and I have therefore to
+avoid bread, potatoes, jam, sugar and kindred substances. Here however,
+I have a craving for these things and never have indigestion. I mention
+this personal trait, because many other travellers in the tropics have
+often stated that they could march on rice and jam for days without
+desiring meat of any kind. No doubt the system is working at, so to
+speak, high pressure, but it is curious that a complete change in one's
+idiosyncrasies should take place even in the first month.
+
+On August 5th the _Flandre_ proceeds up the river, and we bid farewell
+to our travelling companions, who seem to have become old friends in the
+last six weeks. Everyone, is always most kind and courteous, and not
+only gives every information, but also the benefit of his experience,
+and thus affords much valuable assistance. The town of Coquilhatville
+consists of rows of brick houses standing in their own gardens and
+fronting on avenues. It may seem that one insists unnecessarily on the
+fact that the houses are brick in all the towns, a fact which the
+European would accept as a matter of course. The traveller however knows
+that in most tropical countries, wood is usually employed instead, as
+being easier to obtain and work. Indeed in the United States, the
+country seats of even the very wealthy are generally constructed chiefly
+of that substance. Bricks however, are by no means easily made in the
+Congo, for in many places the soil is very sandy and it is therefore
+difficult to make the brick bind. Again, lime is very scarce and all
+manner of substances are used to make mortar. Among these the ant hills
+are much in favour, for it has been observed that these structures which
+are often thirty feet high and in proportion great in diameter, never
+disintegrate in the heaviest rain. When dug out and mixed with sand
+their substance makes an excellent mortar. Again, the shells of oysters,
+which abound in some parts of the river are also used to make mortar
+with good results. The roofs are thatched with palm leaves wherever
+obtainable, and if well constructed are quite water tight. Glass windows
+are not much used, for as much air as possible is desirable and the
+verandahs are so broad that rain rarely enters. The openings are thus
+closed only by shutters or by wire gauze to keep out the numerous
+insects.
+
+Living here is very expensive. The usual money is the mitako, but the
+native likes salt and will sometimes take cloth if he fancies it. He is
+however, very independent, and on one occasion a native refused 14/- in
+cloth for a single duck. Fowls and eggs are about the same price as in
+the West End of London, but the latter are very scarce. Fruit is
+however, cheap, as it is abundant. Near the town is a large coffee and
+cocoa plantation arranged in square fields, separated by avenues of
+palms, which both form grateful shade and yield much palm oil. On each
+field is a large board on which is painted the number of bushes. Papye,
+coeur de boeuf, bananas and pineapples abound.
+
+The system of work in every Post is exactly the same, so that a
+description of it as witnessed in Coquilhatville would equally do for
+every place in the Congo. At 5.30 a.m. reveille and at 6 a.m. roll call
+of all the Europeans and native workers who then, led by a bugler, march
+off to their respective duties. At 11.15 a.m. bugle call and all the
+natives march to the river and bathe. At 11.30 a.m. bathing ceases and
+they march off behind the bugler to dinner and rest. At 2.30 p.m. they
+assemble again and at 5.30 p.m. finish for the day. The native thus
+works eight hours and a half and rests in the hottest portion of the
+day. The workers in the plantations are entirely volunteers and so do
+not come under the 40 hours' rule, which is only applied to those who
+live in the villages and are not in the State service. The women do the
+light work in the plantations and thus fare much better, than when
+forced to do all the work by their husbands, which happens in all the
+villages. It is curious to see them brushing the roads with palm leaves.
+Six or eight women walk abreast and push away the dust and dead leaves
+which are then collected in baskets and thrown into the river.
+
+As our house looks into the square where the Force Publique drill, we
+witness the methods employed. At first the recruit is taught which is
+right and which is left. _Droite_ and up goes the right hand, _gauche_
+and the left follows. The native corporal, however, has corrupted these
+words into _hi hoo_ so that, as is usual in military commands, no mere
+civilian can possibly understand them. Afterwards when he comes to mount
+guard and relieve sentries, the order _presentez armes!_ might be
+anything from the sound.
+
+The band practices also close at hand. First the cornet picks out some
+air he has heard, note by note, and like a child who is learning the
+piano, always goes back to the beginning of the piece when he strikes a
+false note. After many trials the whole air is discovered. Then the
+trombones and bass instruments put in the accompaniment also by
+experiment, and in the end the result is really quite good for Africans
+unlike Asiatics, take kindly to European music.
+
+The method of moving heavy weights is necessarily very primitive, for,
+with the exception of a few wheel-barrows, there are no vehicles of any
+kind here. A huge tree trunk was carried into the square one day; pieces
+of wood had been lashed across it about two feet apart throughout its
+length. One or two men on each side of each piece then lifted it and the
+whole eighty or hundred men marched the trunk along with ease at a jog
+trot. It would indeed be impossible to use heavy trolleys in this part
+of the Congo, for the roads are sandy and the wheels would at once sink
+deeply into them.
+
+A walk through the plantation, which extends over some square miles, is
+very pleasant, as the palms spread their leaves across the avenues until
+they nearly touch each other thus forming beautiful shady groves. Ferns
+grow round the stems and the whole is extremely pretty and
+cool-looking. Beyond the plantation is the cemetery for the whites. Each
+grave is covered with bricks and has a wooden cross at the head on which
+is inscribed the name and date of death. The age however, is omitted and
+this is perhaps as well, for the Congo exacts a heavy toll of young
+lives and new comers are often depressed already by the accounts of the
+climate which have reached Europe.
+
+Further on is a forest through which runs a narrow native tract. This
+demonstrates well the extreme indolence of the native. If a small branch
+of a tree falls across the path, he steps over it, if a large one, he
+walks round it. Time is no object, so the length of the road is
+immaterial. No attempt is made to form bridges, for the streams are not
+deep and are easily fordable, nor even to break off the branches of
+trees which obstruct the way. It is easier to stoop and pass beneath.
+The forest paths have indeed been made simply by the pressure of bare
+feet on the soil and undergrowth. A few monkeys and parrots chatter
+overhead and an occasional pigeon coos, but the chief forms of animal
+life here, are thousands of the most lovely butterflies. These are
+coloured to suit the surroundings and are therefore usually of subdued
+tints. Occasionally however, a great insect nearly as large as one's
+hand, flies by exhibiting the most vivid greens, reds, and blues.
+Bananas, rubber plants, palms and acacias crowd each other in the forest
+through which we walk for three or four miles, until we reach a native
+village consisting of a few square huts in a clearing. A handsome
+looking fellow comes up to us, salutes and desires to know if we wish to
+buy anything. Having neither mitakos, salt, nor cloth except the
+pyjamas we are wearing, we cannot deal and leave the man wondering
+probably--if the native ever does wonder--why we walked all that
+distance if we did not require anything.
+
+On August 8th we visit the Botanical Gardens at Eala, which is about
+three miles from Coquilhatville. Mr. Pinard, the Director of the
+Gardens, shows us the various plants indigenous and imported which he
+has collected, and although the place has only been formed for three
+years, almost everything which could possibly grow has been planted. The
+soil is sandy, the altitude about 1100 feet above sea level and the
+temperature is about 90 deg. F. Numerous varieties of rubber plants are
+arranged here for experimental purposes, and gutta percha also is slowly
+attaining maturity. Bushes which yield acid, suitable for coagulating
+the milk of the rubber plant, grow alongside. Cotton does not do well
+here owing to the scarcity of rain, but coffee and tea flourish. All the
+palms, many ferns and orchids and nearly every fruit and vegetable,
+European as well as tropical, grow in great profusion while the melons,
+vegetable marrows, beans, peas, potatoes, lettuces, cucumbers and
+tomatoes look healthy. Croton, belladonna and other medicinal herbs are
+cultivated and there are many beautiful flowers, whose use is chiefly
+ornamental. The gardens are of great extent, well laid out and
+beautifully kept, so that it is difficult to believe that four years ago
+this site was wild forest.
+
+Adjoining the gardens is a large farm in which cattle, resembling those
+of the Lower Congo, look well. It is however, unfortunate that the cows
+only give sufficient milk to rear their calves. Horses, asses and pigs
+live healthily and the native sheep thrive, but are very thin. Although
+wheat will not grow, maize is easily raised and the grass, if coarse
+looking, is good for grazing. The farm buildings are kept most
+scrupulously clean, for the slightest neglect would probably occasion an
+epidemic of trichinosis among the pigs.
+
+The villages in the neighbourhood of Coquilhatville seem very populous
+and prosperous. Any morning early whole families can be met--father,
+mother and children, with bundles of manioc fastened on their backs by
+broad grass fibres--going to the town. Everywhere the natives seem
+contented and happy. When not working, they sit in the roads and dye
+their skins or have their hair dressed, while the children play around
+with bows and arrows or other pugnacious kind of toys. The wealthy wear
+heavy brass rings extending from the ankle to the knee and the
+discomfort must be very great, but as is proved by the tatouage, the
+natives will bear much pain in order to beautify themselves. Before
+leaving Coquilhatville, we send for the boy Epondo, who was rendered
+famous as an example of an atrocity by Mr. Casement, the late British
+Consul at Boma. Epondo is now employed as a gardener by the Commissaire
+of the District and is always at hand when visitors desire to see him.
+Four inches below the elbow joint of the left arm there are two deeps
+scars, three inches apart, which could certainly have been produced by
+the bite of an animal of about the size of a wild boar. The stump of the
+forearm is covered with irregular scars, such as would remain if the
+hand had become gangrenous and fallen away. It was useless asking him
+questions, as he had already told two distinct stories which have been
+related above.
+
+On August 10th, we leave Coquilhatville and steam down the river to
+Irebu, which we reach after a few hours hot journey. Mr. Jeniaux, the
+Commandant, has spared no pains to make the camp not only beautiful but
+attractive in every way and it has well earned its reputation as one of
+the show places of the Congo. Lord Mountmorres is lodged in a spare
+house used for guests and Lieutenant Hoyer kindly lends me his during
+our stay. The Mess is very comfortably arranged, and the dinner based on
+antelope and wild pig is excellent.
+
+Next day I go hunting with Mr. Hoyer in a canoe propelled by twenty
+paddlers. These at first keep up a kind of chant to the time of the
+paddles which is quite musical and pleasant. As we approach the game
+grounds however, they become quite silent. After travelling up stream
+for about a mile, we land in a kind of bog which is full of a species of
+duck, somewhat resembling a wood-cock. A sergeant of the Force Publique
+acts as guide and hunter, and it soon becomes apparent that the native
+is in the habit of stalking even birds and shooting them sitting. This
+is natural enough for formerly they were armed with bows and arrows, and
+now the army of course use only rifles. Shot guns, therefore, are only
+known to the boys of the white men, some of whom are very good shots.
+The hunter seems quite annoyed because I only shoot at birds on the
+wing, but is delighted when one falls. So far indeed, the only
+enthusiasm a native has shown, has been while hunting after a successful
+shot. The paddlers at once re-enact the scene, put imaginary guns to
+their shoulders give a loud bang and then describe circles with their
+hands to give a dumb show of the bird falling, laughing and shouting
+all the time. They are really just like young children and are easily
+pleased by trifles. After walking some distance the sergeant becomes
+wildly excited and clutches me violently by the arm but makes no noise.
+Looking up I see a large monkey but signify that I will not shoot those
+beasts. He then asks permission to fire his rifle and brings it down
+with a shot through the head. After this we paddle on to the hippo
+ground. After the very first shot at a head fifty yards away, the canoe
+suddenly gives a great lurch and as nearly as possible capsizes. Another
+great beast had evidently chosen that moment to come up just under it
+and if we had not been a heavy load, would undoubtedly have thrown it
+high in the air. As it was, beyond a shaking, no one was damaged and we
+had excellent sport for a few minutes until the animals made for the
+bank and hid themselves in the long grass.
+
+Behind Irebu is a plain, where the grass is really green, the green that
+is only seen in the tropics. Here and there are clumps of palms and
+patches of forest, the whole giving the appearance of a well kept park.
+There are antelope and wild pig here but they are very difficult to
+stalk owing to the open character of the ground. There are also a few
+red-legged partridges and many pigeons so that one always found
+something to shoot.
+
+The native camp here consists of a large square shut off by a wooden
+fence. Inside are large huts in which the soldiers live, and oddly
+enough, they all prefer to have separate establishments, each woman
+preparing the food for her husband. These women also work in the
+plantation when they are not concerned with the business of maternity,
+which judging by the number of children about, must be very seldom. The
+native cemetery is a curious-looking place, for on each grave is placed
+the clothes of the dead one and any other belongings he has. No one
+knows the origin or object of this custom. They are not for the journey
+to the happy hunting ground apparently, for missionaries say they have
+never heard the natives speak of any kind of a future state. It may be
+that these articles are merely to show the wealth of the departed; they
+are however, all broken or torn to shreds, so that no robber should be
+tempted to take them. Many of the tribes are said to eat their dead,
+except those of high position and those who die of infectious diseases,
+and others used to throw the corpses in the river. Some tribes however,
+have a very elaborate funeral with much wailing and lamenting and the
+departed is interred beneath his own hut, which is never occupied again.
+
+At Irebu, the narrow river from Lake Tumba joins the Congo, and from its
+small size is known usually as the canal. The current sometimes flows up
+and sometimes down, according to the height of water in the Congo, but
+it is obvious that the general direction must be down, as many small
+streams flow into the Lake, and all their water is certainly not
+dispersed by evaporation. Many crocodiles pass up and down the canal and
+it would be easy to shoot them from the windows or verandah of my house,
+but it seems to be rather a waste of cartridges which, like most other
+things, must be carried the whole tour, for none can be procured in the
+Congo. I do not therefore, care to run the risk of running short when
+the hunting grounds of Uele are reached.
+
+Sunday is usually a very busy day in Irebu. No work is done, but all
+the Chiefs come in to call on the Commandant, who is evidently regarded
+as a species of parent. Indeed, the nickname of Commandant Jeniaux is
+the native word meaning Father. All the sick are brought in and receive
+treatment; children are vaccinated, and any little native disputes are
+brought before him to settle. These nearly always relate to women. One
+man will complain that his wife has not behaved herself properly at
+home, that she has not prepared his food nicely, or much more rarely,
+that she has run away with another. Sometimes a Chief complains that
+another one has stolen some of his women or goats, and then the other
+side is heard and the judgment pronounced. These are of course, not
+formal trials, and the judgment is more in the shape of advice. It is
+however, always acted upon, for the time being at least. Serious cases
+are left to the Courts, but this institution of friendly palavers is an
+excellent one and establishes confidence and good will among the
+natives. It is here indeed, that the personal character of the white man
+is put to the test. A calm, just, firm rule will win both the love and
+respect of these over-grown children, but an excitable, harsh, uncertain
+temper and manner, will only awaken distrust and hatred. The more
+popular the head of the Station, the easier it is for him to find
+workers in the villages, which in turn affect the general condition of
+the country around. Although the system of work is absolutely uniform
+and every official is tied in a particular groove, yet the whole
+welfare, work, and indeed, appearance of the country and villages, is
+good or bad according to the moral character and personality of the
+chief white man in the neighbourhood. I would therefore, say, with
+however some reserve, that when the natives are discontented and rebel,
+it is not because they dislike the system of Government, but are
+dissatisfied with the man who administers it.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE CHIEFS AT COQUILHATVILLE.]
+
+On August 16th, Inspecteur d'Etat Warnant, Commander in-chief of the
+Force Publique, arrives at Irebu. He is on a tour of inspection, and has
+every reason to be satisfied with the efficiency of the troops. Perfect
+discipline and harmony is maintained throughout all ranks and all the
+officers are agreed that the troops are perfectly steady when fighting
+and never show the least sign of cowardice. Many are very good shots and
+their drill certainly leaves nothing to be desired.
+
+On the same day Mr. Joseph Clarke, of the American Baptist Mission at
+Ikoko, calls at Irebu and kindly invites me to his house for a few days.
+This is situated on the banks of Lake Tumba, or Mantumba or Lac N'Tomba,
+whichever you prefer. Lord Mountmorres remains at Irebu, but I leave in
+Mr. Clarke's boat, propelled by twenty four paddlers, and journey along
+the canal, which twists and turns in all directions. Towards sunset we
+land at Boboko where Mr. Clarke buys some ducks and eggs, the price of
+the latter being a table-spoonful of salt for each. He arranges also to
+sell some nails to the Chief. We then cross the canal to Itutu, a branch
+Mission Station conducted by a native who preaches, and is an excellent
+carpenter. Here we sleep, Mr. Clarke making up a bed in the boat, while
+I occupy a mud hut which however, is scrupulously clean.
+
+Next morning, after a bathe in the canal, in which the water is like
+warm, weak coffee, we continue our journey to Ngero, a long straggling
+village on the north bank of the Lake. The huts here are oblong and
+strongly constructed of hard cane and mud, the roofs being thatched with
+dried palm leaves closely interlaced. It is necessary to stoop to enter
+them, for the doors are not five feet high, but it is possible to stand
+upright within. There is usually a wood fire burning, but no outlet for
+the smoke, which slowly finds its way through the roof. The rafters
+therefore, are covered with a kind of tar which, undoubtedly, acts as an
+antiseptic, and also keeps away the insects. The mosquitoes indeed, will
+not face wood smoke, but tobacco smoke is useless as a shield against
+their attacks. Both sexes here are practically nude. The men are
+fishermen and the women look after the banana-plantations, crush the
+palm nuts for oil and do the cooking and housework.
+
+Ngero was the village of the Chief Lokolo Longania, who raised a
+rebellion against the State some years ago, and after some trouble was
+captured and hanged. Here we buy some fish and eggs and then go on to
+Ikoko, the crew singing native songs and Christian hymns as they paddle
+along. The Mission house is very prettily situated, and is a wooden
+building, with that very rare luxury in the Congo, glass windows. Here
+we are met by Mrs. Clarke, who has spent many years with her husband in
+Africa. The Mission has a good farm and garden, and since the climate is
+not as bad as in many parts, its inmates enjoy fair health. A large
+wooden building is used as a chapel and school, and near it is a saw pit
+and a carpenter's shop where the boys make furniture and boxes for sale
+at Irebu and other Posts in the neighbourhood, for the furniture of the
+Ikoko Mission is quite famous. The girls all wear plain, blue frocks
+which they make themselves, as well as clothes for sale, and many are
+also quite expert at various kinds of fancy needlework. The business has
+however, decreased lately owing to the decrease in population. The
+Mission bell has been ingeniously fixed in a tree, and it calls to
+school, to work and prayer, as regularly as the bugle in the State
+Posts.
+
+The village of Ikoko consists of groups of huts separated from each
+other by the tall grass, which here is eighteen or twenty feet long, but
+as the ends bend over, not above twelve or fifteen feet high. The people
+seem idle, contented and happy, the chief industry being fishing and
+net-making. Mr. Clarke said the population used to be about 2000 in
+number, but many have died of Sleeping Sickness and some have migrated.
+This is very evident, for a number of huts are deserted, and the weeds
+have grown over them, in some cases entirely blocking the entrances. Out
+of curiosity, we have a rough census taken and find there are 138 men in
+the village on August 19th. Some no doubt are fishing, and allowing for
+these and the women and children, there are probably not more than 1000
+to 1200 people now living in the village. The work these do for the
+State, consists of supplying 600 rations of fish per week to the
+plantation of Bikoro, a ration consisting of a whole, a half, or a
+quarter of a fish according to its size. For this they are paid 600
+mitakos--or about 23/--. They also supply bamboos and baskets, but it is
+very plain that if the people worked hard, they would certainly not
+require as long as 40 hours a month to accomplish their tasks. The fish
+are caught in nets made of thin bamboo lashed together by a tough
+creeper, which are arranged in the lake. Sometimes it happens that the
+fishermen are unfortunate and then they buy from their neighbours who
+take advantage of the scarcity value and charge them more than they will
+receive from the State. A village might thus be out of pocket by the
+transaction, but as each one has its turn, probably by the end of the
+year no one has lost or gained.
+
+In the Mission school men, women, and children are learning to read and
+write the native language, and some have mastered also the rudiments of
+arithmetic and French. Some of the classes are held in the school-room
+and others under trees near at hand. An assistant missionary, Mr.
+Whitman, helps Mr. Clarke, while Mrs. Whitman teaches in the school.
+
+On August 20th we start for Bikoro under a threatening sky. It is indeed
+soon apparent that a tornado is crossing the Lake towards us, for great
+banks of dense clouds advancing rapidly from the south west now obscure
+the sun. It would be impossible to travel through the storm, so we turn
+the boat and make for a creek which bounds Ikoko on the east. Only just
+in time, we reach a native hut, as a terrific storm bursts overhead.
+The rain descends in sheets accompanied by vivid green lightning and
+crashes of thunder. Fortunately the roof is water-tight, but the mud
+floor of the hut has worn down below the level of the ground outside and
+soon the water pours through the door and is nine or ten inches deep
+inside. The fire splutters out and the logs float around amid the
+crowing of fowls and the cackling of ducks who are quite contented and
+happy. Our hostess with a baby strapped on her back in the usual native
+fashion, commences to bale out the water with a basket while we sit on
+logs in the darkness and try to keep dry. After about an hour the storm
+passes and we go back to the Mission, the Lake now appearing like a
+small sea.
+
+Mr. Clarke lends me a copy of the _Memorial concerning conditions in the
+Independent State of the Congo_ which was presented to the American
+Senate early in 1904. There seem to be a great many curious errors in
+it. It starts with the astounding statement that the Congo Free State
+has a sea board of 400 miles along the Atlantic, whereas a glance at the
+map will show that it is really about a tenth as long. It estimates the
+Force Publique at 30,000 men, rather more than twice its full strength,
+and its author is under the impression that the people may not collect
+the produce of the land or "barter it for merchandise." It is a little
+difficult to understand what the author means here. As a matter of fact,
+the people are trading with each other, all day long and with the white
+travellers whenever they have the opportunity. They sell food, lances,
+native knives and all kinds of curiosities to those who desire them and
+are at perfect liberty to barter away all their property if they wish to
+do so. They may not of course enter the territories of the State or
+Private Companies and take the ivory or rubber, any more than the people
+in Europe may walk on to private land and gather the corn or fruit from
+it for their own use or profit. The native indeed is in the position of
+a farm labourer who gathers the fruits of the soil for his master and is
+paid a wage for so doing. On Sunday I attend service in the chapel. A
+native from Sierra Leone reads a lesson from the Gospel of St. Matthew,
+which has been translated into Bangala and gives a short address on the
+subject afterwards. He is evidently much in earnest and talks with that
+kind of spirit of conviction frequently to be noticed in street
+preachers. Several hymns are sung and then the people pass out, dropping
+their mitakos into the plate as they do so. In the afternoon, we walk
+round the village. Mr. Clarke notices a boy with a malformation of one
+knee and speaks to him. He then explains to me that this is another
+atrocity, for the boy said he had been shot by the soldiers of the State
+when an infant. An examination of the boy however, showed he was
+suffering from a kind of bony tumour. There are several chiefs in Ikoko
+and one of them also practises as a doctor. He has cleared a space about
+ten feet in diameter and enclosed it for a consulting room, while an
+inner chamber, still more closely surrounded, is the secret place where
+the infusions are made and the charms and fetishes consulted. Although
+many of the drugs used, are efficacious or not, according to the faith
+of the patient, as in civilised countries, yet the white people
+constantly tell of apparently wonderful cures by native doctors, and it
+is certain that the people at present prefer to be treated by those of
+their own colour. There is also an old lady in Ikoko, the widow of a
+chief, who is reported to be very clever as a healer. This old person
+has European features but has an unpleasant expression. The native women
+wear nothing but a thin belt with a small piece of cloth attached but
+they are covered with brass rings, and the principle wife of an
+important chief here was wearing a necklet of solid brass which must
+have weighed thirty or forty pounds. This was fixed on and had to be
+worn night and day.
+
+[Illustration: THE FARM AT EALA.]
+
+In spite however, of clever doctors, the men do not live to be much over
+forty years of age. Perhaps they have too many wives for there are far
+more old women than men. On the other hand, as there must be two or
+three women to each man, it is only natural to find more of the former
+at any given age. The infants are not weaned for three or four years and
+during that period the woman it is said refuses to lie with her husband.
+Another wife therefore, cohabits with the man while the first rears her
+child. Polygamy is thus a custom which the missionaries find very
+difficult to change. The State however, refuses to recognise more than
+one wife and many of the soldiers are legitimately married by the
+officials qualified to perform that office.
+
+Much palm wine is consumed by the natives for its manufacture is very
+simple. A gourd is tied to an upper branch of a palm which is then
+tapped and the sap drops into the vessel. If this is left all night,
+fermentation takes place without artificial aid, and at midday a kind of
+highly scented alcoholic cider is produced which however, is acid and
+undrinkable by the evening. This natural wine must therefore, be drunk
+on the day of fermentation and does not improve on keeping.
+
+What a useful tree the palm is! Its trunk, branches and leaves are fine
+building materials; its matting forms beds and furniture; its oil gives
+light, acts as butter or lard for cooking, makes soap when mixed with
+banana juice or an alkali, and indeed, can be used for all the purposes
+of oil; it forms wine, and the heart of the plant is most excellent
+eating as a salad. Therefore given meat, the palm tree and the banana,
+and a town can be built and its inhabitants fed. Both sexes smoke a
+great deal of tobacco and also Indian hemp, which latter has however,
+been found so injurious that it is illegal to grow the plant but the
+native tobacco is not at all unpleasant when smoked in a pipe.
+
+On August 22nd we take a trip up a small river to the East of Ikoko
+which winds through dense forest and is evidently full of fish, for at
+intervals, barricades are erected which stretch right across the river,
+with the exception of a small space to allow canoes to go up and down.
+In the middle or one side however, an opening is left which can be
+closed by lowering one of the bamboo nets heavily weighted, vertically
+down. Platforms are erected ten or twelve feet high to raise or lower
+these nets and the whole structure is ingeniously and strongly put
+together. The fish are thus allowed to swim up and are then enclosed in
+a section of the river, when they are easily caught in baskets. All the
+riverside population engages in fishing. On the way I shot a toucan,
+which must have weighed ten or twelve pounds, with number five shot
+which happened to be in the gun at the time. The bird however, was hit
+in the head and breast. The natives at once plucked it and having
+scarcely warmed it at the fire greedily eat it.
+
+At a village called Bokoto a boy was brought to me with his right hand
+missing, for I was very anxious to see an original of the photos which
+are so common in England. I was indeed beginning to despair of finding
+one at all for most of the white men had never seen a case, none of the
+natives understood what I wished and hitherto no missionary knew where
+one was to be found. Here however, was a boy with his right hand missing
+and it had evidently been removed by a sharp instrument, but not I think
+by a surgeon, for the scars were not such as follow amputation at the
+wrist joint. Mr. Clarke acted as interpreter and the following
+conversation took place.
+
+--When was this done?
+
+--During the rubber war when the boy was an infant.
+
+--Who did it?
+
+--The soldiers who came from Bofiji.
+
+--Why did they come?
+
+--Because the natives had not collected rubber.
+
+--Where did this take place?
+
+--In the country behind Bikoro and the mother was killed at the same
+time as she was carrying away her infant.
+
+Neither the date nor the age of the boy is known, but he appears to be
+12 or 13 years of age and his name is Imputela. Although therefore, no
+proof can be adduced, for the child of course remembers nothing and only
+knows what he has been told, there is a possibility that a native
+soldier may have cut off his hand. On the other hand, it may have been
+injured or cut by a native chief. I mention this case at length, because
+it was the only one I ever found in a tour of several thousand miles in
+the interior of the Congo State, although everyone knew I was very
+anxious to see such cases. On our way back we call at Inkaka another
+fishing village. Behind it a few of the Batoir tribe had temporarily
+settled. They are very savage and uncivilised and lead a wandering life,
+hunting game. Sometimes they act as professional hunters and are
+employed by villagers to find them food. One young fellow was armed
+with a bow and wooden arrows poisoned at the tip and carefully wrapped
+in a leaf. The poison is simply the decomposing matter of dead men or
+animals. As long as this is wet, it is most deadly but loses its
+strength when dried. For this reason only is the tip wrapped in a leaf.
+Death has followed within a few hours of being struck with a poisoned
+arrow and this is only to be expected, for we know how dangerous it is
+for surgeons when they wound themselves during an examination of the
+dead body. On the way home we found a snake in the water and shot it
+just at the very moment it had seized a fish and was holding it in its
+mouth. Just as we were picking this out another similar one appeared and
+this met the same fate. They were bright green in colour and had small
+heads, but one measured 93 and the other 90 inches in length.
+
+On August 23rd we visit Bikoro a large State plantation of coffee, cocoa
+and rubber, situated on the bank of the Lake about eight or nine miles
+from Ikoko. It is conducted by Mr. Monaie, a Swiss gentleman, who has
+had much experience in horticulture. Here nature has been closely
+imitated but improved upon. First the undergrowth was cleared from the
+forest and then the native rubber vines were planted and have commenced
+to climb the trees. These are not tapped until they are ten years old,
+for although it is possible to obtain the rubber milk before, the vines
+are killed or seriously injured if they are cut when too young. Some
+rubber shrubs from Brazil have also been planted, but do not flourish as
+well as the native kind. Altogether more than a 1000 hectares have been
+planted and the various plantations are connected by well kept paths.
+More than three hundred natives are employed and the work in the shade
+of the forest must be very pleasant. They are housed in a series of huts
+in a clearing, which are kept scrupulously clean. There are fifteen or
+twenty soldiers here who act as policemen--for only the big towns have a
+separate Police force--and guard the rubber and ivory stores. Gum copal
+is also found in the district in large quantities and in various
+qualities and colours. The brick houses for the two officials face the
+lake and gardens have been laid out which are very neat and tidy, the
+whole place, although much smaller, rivalling even Irebu in beauty.
+
+Next day I return to Irebu in the _Florida_ a small stern wheel steamer,
+and find a welcome mail from home and also a permit to shoot game from
+Boma. This latter is an imposing document of nine articles and gives
+permission to shoot adult male animals but not female if accompanied by
+their young, or, if possible to distinguish them, even if alone. The
+animals named are, _hippopotames, baffles, antilopes, gazelles, ibex,
+chevrotains, les divers sangliers, petits singes, outardes, francolains,
+perdreaux, pintades_ and other game birds. Permission is also given to
+kill _in a scientific manner_. one elephant in the close season. It will
+thus be seen that the State is determined to protect the wild animals of
+the forest from indiscriminate slaughter and stringent laws regulating
+hunting are decreed from time to time.
+
+[Illustration: THE UBANGI RIVER.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+The Ubangi River.--Irebu to Banzyville.
+
+
+We leave Irebu on August 29th in the _Florida_ and steam up the river
+Ubangi. The colour of the water at once changes for whereas the Congo
+carries much sand and is brown, the Ubangi carries much clay and is a
+dirty yellow. The banks are densely wooded and in the stream are many
+islands also covered with forest. Lying on patches of sand or on the
+fallen trunks of trees are many crocodiles asleep. There is not much
+sport in shooting them but one which was leisurely swimming up stream
+about fifty yards from the ship, made a sporting shot and was killed
+with a bullet in the heart. As the cabin is small and hot, we arrange to
+sleep on the bridge of the steamer which is almost embedded in trees
+when we tie up to the bank for the night. A tornado bursts about
+midnight, but the dense foliage acts as a protection and very little
+water finds its way into our improvised bedroom.
+
+Next day we stop at Bobanghe, a native Wood-Post, and go ashore. The
+huts here are thatched with grass, for palms seem scarce. Some of the
+men have black beards which they plait into one or two tails, producing
+a curious appearance and while they fish, the women do the work of the
+village and the marketing. Several of them were sitting on logs,
+contentedly puffing tobacco smoke from wooden pipes while they offered
+fish, fruit and vegetables for sale to our crew and native passengers.
+One variety of fish was particularly noticeable; it was coloured like a
+trout, but had a long snout on the dorsal side. We bought one, and it
+proved very good eating. The forest here is full of rubber plants,
+nearly every vine and leaf, when broken, yielding the milky sap which
+dries, or can be coagulated, into rubber.
+
+One day the boy Jean fell overboard, but leisurely undressed in the
+water and swam to the bank, whence he was rescued by the canoe of the
+steamer. He was perfectly calm but Chikaia burst into tears and loudly
+blubbered. Very little indeed is sufficient to arouse emotionalism in
+some-of the natives, who are always laughing or crying, fortunately the
+former more often than the latter.
+
+The banks of the Ubangi descend as a rule, sheer into deep water and are
+often indeed miniature cliffs. No attempt is made to fashion steps and
+the villagers slide down the banks as best they can and thus form a rude
+path to the water. A half dozen men in an hour could make a convenient
+inclined plain or steps, but the native only does what work is
+absolutely necessary in order to live, and although loving ease, will
+not take the trouble to make himself more comfortable. So he climbs
+painfully up the bank every night from his canoe and slides down again
+every morning without attempting to improve the path. The vanity of the
+native however, causes him to take great pains to--as he thinks--improve
+his personal appearance. Brass collars and bangles are very uncommon on
+the Ubangi and beads take their place. The women wear short skirts made
+of vegetable fibres plaited, which must take days or weeks to construct.
+These are black or red in colour and are suspended from the waist, but
+as the fibre is somewhat stiff, they project all round like the dress of
+a ballet dancer. These are peculiar to the Ubangi and are rarely worn by
+other tribes. The men wear only loin cloths and often carry a large
+straight knife suspended by a leather belt strapped round the chest.
+
+It is very hot from midday to sunset, but the nights are comparatively
+cool. One afternoon we saw a great number of serpent-birds perched high
+up on a bulbous tree, and, as they are good to eat, stopped to shoot
+some. They were not at all shy and did not depart after several shots
+had been fired, but wheeled round and round as if to discover what was
+the cause of the strange noise. Ball, 3 and 5' shot were equally
+efficacious and more than a dozen fell in a few minutes. These birds
+have a beautiful black and white plumage with a long neck and bill and
+webbed feet and weigh five or six pounds each. The flavour is somewhat
+like ptarmigan and the natives eat them, as usual, without waiting until
+they were properly cooked.
+
+In the evening I took a stroll in the forest and soon found the recent
+spoor of an elephant. Chikaia was just ahead, when he suddenly stopped
+and whispered _macat_ pointing in the air. There was a fine monkey and
+the boy's instinct for such a choice morsel, actually caused him to
+stop, although he knew very well it would have been absurd to fire and
+so frighten the elephant. At one time we must have been within a few
+yards of the beast when a snapping of a twig or some sound disturbed him
+and with a bellow he rushed away crashing through the forest. It is
+curious that while birds are so bold in Africa, ground game is extremely
+shy and most difficult to stalk.
+
+On September 2nd we reach Imese, the first place on the Ubangi where
+there are white men. Mr. Donneaux was the Chef du poste and everything
+was in good order. Rubber vines were being planted in the forest and
+rubber shrubs in the clearings. Coffee was also growing and pineapples
+and other fruits looked well. All the houses are, as usual, of brick
+which are of better quality than on the Congo, as the clay is good and
+very abundant. The native village is about ten minutes' walk distant and
+is arranged in two or three regular streets and not in patches of huts
+dotted down here and there as in the Lake Tumba District. The State
+impost here is one kilogramme of rubber each month from each man for
+which he is paid 40 or 50 centimes. Collecting this amount takes one or
+two days and the rest of the time the native works for himself or not
+as he chooses. Here the people seem more industrious than in most parts,
+many women being engaged in making mats and pottery. The pots are
+fashioned by hand with the aid of a round stone and are so wonderfully
+symmetrical that they resemble those made on a lathe. The clay is
+obtained from the river bed by diving and after the vessel is made, it
+is first dried in the sun and then baked in a wood fire. While still
+hot, it is painted with gum copal which renders it water-tight.
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG COFFEE TREES AT COQUILHATVILLE.]
+
+At dinner we have a dish called _beefsteak American_. formed apparently
+of very tender, cold meat with green salad and mayonnaise. On asking
+however, we hear it is the raw flesh of goat cut up small. It is
+certainly the best way of eating goat's flesh, for any method of cooking
+seems to extract what little juice it possesses and convert it into a
+substance resembling old leather. The name is curious, for it is neither
+beef nor steak, and is probably as rare in America as Irish stew is in
+Ireland or Welsh rarebit in Wales.
+
+There are some very fine canoes here, very often carved throughout their
+entire length, a favourite device being a crocodile. Two or three very
+large _tom-toms_. are also in the village. These instruments are carved
+from a solid piece of a tree six or eight feet long, most of the
+interior being extracted through a narrow slit-like aperture two or
+three inches wide and running nearly the length of the tom-tom. The
+result is a hollow instrument, giving one or two different notes when
+struck in different parts which can be heard for many miles. In case of
+war, the whole country side can be quickly aroused, but the _tom-tom_.
+is also used during peace as a telegraph.
+
+At Imese two soldiers and their future brides came on board for the
+purpose of travelling to Libenge to be married, for only Commissaires of
+Districts and Missionaries can legally join two into one. The send off
+was quite pretty, the happy couples being pelted with flowers as they
+stepped on board, while one friend--perhaps a kind of best man--threw
+his cap into the river. The State encourages regular marriages,
+especially among the soldiers. The wife then works in the gardens or
+plantations, while her husband drills, and returns at midday and in the
+evening to cook his food.
+
+Next day we reach Dongo, a village situated on a hill perhaps 200 feet
+high. After looking at flat forest for weeks, this appears a veritable
+mountain and it seems quite a stiff climb up the rough path constructed
+as usual only by the feet of the people who have used it. Mr. Vannini,
+an Italian officer, is constructing a Post here with the aid of some ten
+or fifteen soldiers. Dongo is a very large village containing perhaps
+3000 people and the huts are arranged in streets running parallel to
+each other with their ends towards the river. The physique of the people
+is very good indeed, some of the men being more than six feet in height.
+The women mostly wear copper collars, three inches high and with a
+second horizontal collar attached on the outside. The whole is hammered
+on and must be intensely uncomfortable. A special pillow, consisting of
+a piece of wood hollowed out for the head is necessary, as sleep would
+otherwise be impossible with such a contrivance round the neck. A great
+number of children run about and seem to be well nourished. Some have
+large heads and protruding stomachs, without however, other signs of
+_rickets_. Many of the men are painted with yellow stripes, an
+indication that they have killed their man in battle, and these donned
+their fighting clothes of many colours and with shields and spears posed
+to be photographed, dancing around and uttering wild war whoops. A human
+skull partly buried in the middle of a road is evidently a souvenir of
+the terrible orgy which followed some recent encounter. Indeed all the
+people here are cannibals and those killed or captured in war, except
+women and children, are always eaten. When not fighting, the people
+fish, collect rubber, grow kwanga and generally work fairly well and are
+not troublesome. Mr. Vannini, however, evidently thinks it safer to
+erect a high stockade around his house and the huts of the soldiers.
+This is a wise precaution, as only a few months ago four French traders
+were killed and eaten on the opposite bank of the river.
+
+After passing several densely populated villages, one of which extends
+in a straight line for ten miles, we reach Libenge, the capital of the
+Ubangi District. The houses here have been arranged around a square with
+one side open to the river. In one of these we take up our quarters and
+then go for a stroll with Captain Bertrand, the Commissaire of the
+District, and Dr. Rhodain, the medical officer for Ubangi. The latter
+states that he has only seen two cases of sleeping sickness in several
+years' residence and that there is no syphilis, small-pox or
+tuberculosis in the neighbourhood. The people work well here,--the
+villagers collecting the usual kilogramme per month, while the workers
+in the plantations clear the forest and plant more rubber for future
+use. The hunting here is very good in the dry season. Now however, it is
+necessary to wade in water three feet deep in the forest. Spoor of
+elephant and antelope abound and there are several magnificent eagles
+and hawks overhead.
+
+The chief difficulty here for Europeans is the water question. Although
+much of this necessity is on all sides, it is not of good drinking
+quality and dysentery is therefore common, while bilious fever and
+hematuria are also known.
+
+One night at Libenge as we were playing bridge, the sentry suddenly
+fired and the bullet whistled uncomfortably close by the door of our
+house. The guard turned out very quickly without any fuss and passed at
+the double. A single sharp order was given and then all was quiet again.
+Next day we heard that a thief had penetrated to the rubber store when
+he was seen by the sentry, who fired the alarm, but the man was not
+captured. All the natives here seem anxious to trade. Ladies sell us
+their brass bangles for a tea cup full of salt and their dresses for a
+similar amount. Spears, knives and many other curios are also offered
+for sale some of which have evidently been hastily made since our
+arrival.
+
+We leave Libenge on September 9th and continue our journey in the
+_Florida_, this being her first trip up the river higher than this point
+for at low water, the rapids above cannot be navigated by steamers at
+all. Now however, the depth is almost at its maximum, and as the boat
+only draws two feet, she can pass over the rocks with great ease. In the
+afternoon we stop at a village and ask for wood, for as there was no
+regular steamer service, there were no organised Wood Posts. The natives
+at first brought down a log or two and demanded payment at an exorbitant
+rate, which the captain refused to give, and it became necessary for our
+crew to go ashore and cut wood themselves. The Chief seemed willing to
+deal fairly, but evidently had little authority over his lazy people.
+Then on again through the tornado, which at this season appears daily
+with great regularity either in the afternoon or at night time. The
+scenery is now changing, for we are approaching the limits of the great
+equatorial forest. Hills, which appear like mountains, after the dead
+level, can be seen in front covered with grass and a few trees.
+
+On September 10th, we reach Songo a small State Post in charge of a
+native from Sierra Leone. Here we pitch our tents in a clearing and
+proceed to re-arrange the baggage, for we shall have now to travel in
+canoes, the river not being navigable for steamers for some distance.
+Immediately above Songo indeed is the first of the Ubangi rapids, the
+water roaring and hissing as it fights its way down and over the rocks.
+Just before bedtime, Chikaia comes with a long face and evidently much
+disturbed and asks for a gun or rifle to protect himself, as the
+_indigenes_ are supposed to be very savage here. This of course I
+refuse, and tell him to go to sleep by the fire and not be foolish.
+However, I notice that both my rifle and gun are loaded and carefully
+placed by my bedside. The boys then organise a watch over the baggage,
+taking it in turn to act as sentry. On the opposite side of the river is
+Bangi, the second most important place in the French Congo, prettily
+situated on the side of a hill, and next day we cross in a small canoe.
+The journey is interesting and exciting. Below the rapids are many small
+whirlpools, and the capita of the canoe takes advantage of these to help
+him on his course. Sometimes the water at the upper and sometimes at the
+lower edge of the whirlpool is flowing in the direction he wishes to
+take and with wonderful dexterity, he turns the bow of the canoe towards
+a suitable current. We swing about like a cork and ship a good deal of
+water but arrive without mishap on the other side. We call on Mr.
+Jacques, the Vice Governor General of the French Congo, who kindly
+offers us assistance and a few soldiers to act as sentries and
+interpreters when we camp on the French side of the river. Most of these
+are Senegalese and are smart looking fellows. The natives here affect a
+very elaborate head dress consisting of many coloured beads twisted and
+plaited into their hair, the amount of time and patience required by the
+barbers being enormous.
+
+It appears that the four French traders, who were massacred a few weeks
+ago, had two factories, one close to the river and one further inland.
+In the latter was a large stock of arms and ammunition. These were
+hastily abandoned and the natives then seized them and attacked the
+factory on the river. All four white men were killed and it is feared
+that two were first tied to trees and tortured. A punitive expedition
+has been sent against the tribe who are now armed with these modern
+rifles and the moral of the story is obviously that it is very dangerous
+to permit traders to import and sell arms at all.
+
+One night I was awakened and saw the boys dancing excitedly about the
+fire and in front of my tent. Having asked the matter, Chikaia, whose
+zoological knowledge is very limited, replied _il est la petite bete_.
+This sounded like mosquitoes so, having tucked in my net more closely, I
+turned round to sleep. A few minutes afterwards, Lord Mountmorres
+appeared shouting with pain and mounting a chair in front of my tent
+rapidly peeled off his clothes. He said his bed was full of great black
+ants which had fixed on his skin and were biting him all over. Millions
+of these pests indeed were on the camping ground but had as yet not
+reached my tent. Hastily pulling on high boots and covering myself from
+head to foot, I cautiously crept out of the tent and found the ground
+black with ants. It was impossible to kill them by stamping about for
+they were simply driven into the soft sand and wriggled out again the
+moment the foot was withdrawn. We were evidently in the line of march of
+a migrating host and were forced to beat a hasty retreat leaving the
+insects in full possession.
+
+There is no drinking water at Songo, so we had to boil and filter that
+from the river. This proved very difficult, for even after allowing it
+to settle and then carefully decanting it, there was so much mud left,
+that the pores of the porcelain candles in the filters frequently became
+blocked. We had therefore to be content with muddy water well boiled. As
+we had a fair amount of baggage, we required sixty or seventy paddlers
+and it was not easy to find so many. At length however, after searching
+on both sides of the river, crews were collected for three large canoes
+and we arranged to continue our journey on September 14th.
+
+The canoes were lifted up the Songo rapids empty, while the baggage was
+carried along the bank. It was then stowed in the boats and having
+taken our places we made a start. The method of propulsion is very
+interesting to watch. The canoes are sixty or seventy feet long and
+three or four wide. In the centre is an awning to shade the white man
+and in front by the bows, a space is left about ten feet long in which
+three pole men work. These use their poles as in punting, except that
+the ends are forked, so that they are enabled to push either against the
+bottom of the river or rocks, or branches of trees on the bank, for the
+canoe keeps close to the shore all the time in order to give the polemen
+an opportunity and also to avoid the swifter current running in the
+centre of the river. In the stern twenty or thirty paddlers sit on the
+sides of the boat and work together, while on the extreme end two or
+three stand up with long paddles to steer. The cook with his fire built
+on a heap of clay in the bottom of the canoe, sits among the paddlers
+and the sentries and baggage tuck themselves in somewhere, for it is
+wonderful how many people and how much baggage these canoes will carry.
+
+Soon after starting we pass the Catholic Mission on the French bank and
+immediately begin to fight a rapid. The paddlers strain every muscle,
+the pole men push with all their strength against rocks and tree trunks
+and the soldiers help by pulling on branches of trees or anything else
+which is fixed. The water whirls past as we creep up inch by inch. At
+one moment gaining, at another losing, the excitement being intense, for
+if once we are conquered by the stream, the canoe will probably be
+broken to pieces on the rocks. At times some of the crew jump out and
+clinging with their feet to the rocks, while up to their middle in the
+torrent, push the boat up with all their strength. At length smooth
+water is reached and on we go quietly for an hour or two, when another
+rapid is reached and the struggle commences again. The work is intensely
+hard and dangerous, but the Sangos are expert boatmen and seem anxious
+to finish their task as soon as possible. In rough water or smooth, the
+crews race along, singing, shouting and encouraging each other to make
+one more effort. After an exciting and tiring day we reach a village and
+having seen the crews rationed, pitch our tents.
+
+On again at 6.30. a.m. in a heavy river mist which however, is soon
+dispersed as the sun rises. The rapids, which at first had the
+excitement of novelty, began to pall for it was tiresome not being able
+to read or sleep without being disturbed by the possibility of a bath in
+a current running, at the rate of perhaps fifteen miles an hour, between
+rocks. Towards sunset we reach the site of Bokanda, a village now
+deserted, for some years ago the Chief with his people migrated across
+the river to the French side. We decide therefore, to sleep in the new
+village and proceed to cross, but are still in mid stream when we see
+the majority of the people running away into the forest behind, the
+women gathering up their children and household utensils, while the men
+followed more leisurely. The Chief however, and a few braves appear on
+the beach with guns and for a moment it looks as though they mean
+mischief. They evidently however think better of it, for we land
+unmolested and send interpreters to say we are hunters and only desire a
+place for our camp and food for our men. The Chief at once advances and
+gives us chickens and eggs while the soldiers pitch the tents in the
+square of the village.
+
+On again at daybreak, the journey being still more tiring, for it is
+impossible to force the canoes heavily laden up some of the cataracts.
+We have therefore to land three times and while the baggage is carried
+along the bank, the empty canoes are hauled up with ropes. At length the
+elephant rapids are safely negotiated and an hour or two afterwards
+Mokoangai is reached but in three long days' hard work, we have ascended
+only about thirty miles of the river.
+
+At Mokoangai is a large plantation and farm and well built houses for
+the one or two white men who live there. Next day I start before
+daybreak hunting. The country is open and hilly, covered generally with
+grass eight or ten feet high. Still there are many places where the
+ground is almost bare and it is an ideal spot for stalking game. After
+walking a few miles in a mist, we see several antelopes and endeavour to
+stalk them. While still nearly a hundred yards away, they commence to
+walk slowly towards cover but it is possible to get a fair side shot and
+one falls heavily hit in the shoulder. Soon after an elephant suddenly
+appears about two hundred yards ahead walking along the crest of a hill.
+Sending the native hunter to pick up the antelope, Chikaia and I follow
+the elephant's spoor for some hours, but do not come up with it or find
+other game. We were now high up on the range of hills behind Mokoangai
+and the view was magnificent. The great river could be seen winding its
+way between the hills covered with the vivid greens only to be found in
+damp tropical countries. Otherwise the picture somewhat recalled
+central Wales with a Wye magnified a hundred times. Chikaia had walked a
+long way carrying a heavy rifle, and now showed signs of fatigue so he
+was encouraged by being allowed to shoot a monkey on the way home.
+
+Next day being Sunday, we rest quietly in the Post and prepare to leave
+next morning in the _Aia_ which is one of the first launches Stanley
+took to Africa and is therefore, somewhat ancient. Since she is too
+small to carry much baggage, she tows a large open iron boat nearly the
+same size alongside. In this the camp is slowed and the boys and
+soldiers take their places sitting on the bales and cases, and we make a
+start on Monday September 19th for Banzyville. Fortunately there are no
+rapids in this stretch of the river and it is at least possible to stand
+up comfortably in the launch, whereas in the canoes, it was necessary to
+sit still in a long hammock chair for practically twelve hours each day.
+
+The people and villages now change much in appearance for the huts are
+shaped like beehives and are made of frameworks of wood covered with
+grass. The entrance is only about three feet high and the dome of the
+roof perhaps four times that height. In some of them a kind of platform
+is erected which seems to be an attempt to make a two storey building of
+the hut. The women are here either quite nude or wear a small piece of
+cloth or grass below the waist; the men however all have a loin cloth.
+All the people seem to be of fine physique and the proportion of
+children is abnormally high. The first night we stop at a trading post
+of the Dutch Company on the French side of the river and are hospitably
+received by the agents there.
+
+Next day we reach the Catholic Mission of Sainte Famille also on French
+territory. The Fathers have laid out a large plantation and farm;
+horses, cattle, sheep, goats and poultry all doing well. Indeed modern
+American ploughs and carts give the farm quite a home-like appearance.
+Maize, oranges, bananas, pineapples and many vegetables are here in
+abundance. Sleeping Sickness is not known, which immunity is attributed
+by the priests to the fact that the natives have plenty of fresh meat
+and eat little kwanga. Apparently the disease is due to a bacillus. It
+is however, at least possible that the new diet of the civilised native
+may be a predisposing factor. The savage is naturally carnivorous and
+before the advent of the white man, had little to eat but animal flesh.
+Now his chief article of diet in the western parts of the Congo is
+kwanga, which consists chiefly of starch, and he has only a little meat
+and fish. Along the Congo where the native is civilised, there is much
+sleeping sickness, but along the Ubangi where he is more savage, there
+is practically none. The Fathers give us some spirits distilled from the
+papye and pineapple which are very good and beer made from maize which
+is not. They then show us round the grounds and before we leave load us
+with eggs and fresh vegetables which are very acceptable. At sunset we
+tie up to the bank and make a camp. It is wonderful how quickly the
+grass is cut down, the tents erected, fires lighted and dinner cooked,
+for when the native knows he has to perform a certain definite task, he
+works hard, so that he can eat his dinner and get to sleep as soon as
+possible. Chikaia apparently has a fine sense of satire or humour. A
+table was broken and when I asked how it was done, Chikaia instead of
+answering "it has been done a long time" as an European servant would,
+went one better and said "it has always been like that." "I suppose it
+was made so," I replied. "Yes, Sir" was the answer and there was no more
+to be said.
+
+The banks of the river are here lined with villages and each time we
+stop crowds run to see the steamer, while the Chief comes on board,
+shakes hands solemnly and presents eggs, chicken or a goat. In return we
+hand back a good value in cloth, beads or salt. Mitakos are not seen
+here at all, for beads are used instead. The natives always seemed
+grateful and satisfied with their presents, which was rarely the case on
+the Congo where the people generally grumble even when they receive many
+times the value of the article they sell. We camp at the village of Dru,
+where we find it very difficult to pitch tents owing to the rocky nature
+of the soil.
+
+On September 22nd we reach the Kuangu river where is situated the chief
+post of a French Trading Company. The buildings are as usual of bricks,
+the mortar being made of the shells of river oysters and sand. Soon
+after our arrival, a poor native was brought in whose hand had been
+terribly mangled in a circular saw. We dressed it as carefully as
+possible and fixed it on a splint until he could reach a post with a
+hospital. In the night however, weird chanting was heard and next day we
+discovered that his friends had been exorcising the evil spirits--i.e.
+the perchloride of mercury in which the hand had been washed--had torn
+off all the bandages and sent the boy a way in a canoe to avoid the
+white medicine man. The hand will almost certainly fall off and the
+further history of the boy will perhaps be interesting. One of the
+traders, Mr. Constantine, a Swiss, said he had been stationed in the
+interior and had heard no news since January. We are only able to bring
+him up to June, three months behind date. This gentleman has had an
+interesting career. He fought for England in the Matabele war and then
+settled in the Orange Free State where he was commandeered by Cronje and
+forced into the trenches at Magersfontein, but to his own great
+satisfaction was soon taken prisoner by the British and was very well
+treated. He now lives absolutely alone, without a guard of any sort,
+some days' journey from the river and feels quite safe, for the natives
+here look upon a white man as a protection from the Arabs. This Company
+trades in rubber with the natives, paying in beads at the rate of 40
+centimes a kilogramme. It is therefore, unlikely that many natives
+migrate to the French Congo where they receive no more pay for their
+work than in the State, and are besides taxed. The country behind the
+station is flat veldt and only a few small elephants are occasionally
+found. The usual heavy tornado bursts in the afternoon nearly filling
+the launch and boat with water in a very short time. Having bought some
+wine and other stores, from the Company we next day continue up the
+river past many villages all densely populated. The architecture has
+again changed, the huts now being tent shaped and rising to a point in
+the centre which is sometimes ornamented with a pair of antelope horns.
+Some of the villages have plantations and all the inhabitants seem
+desirous to trade, salt being the substance usually demanded in return
+for lances, knives or curios. Indeed, even our own people wish to do a
+little business, and after buying articles from the villagers, try to
+sell them to us at no doubt a greatly enhanced price. The higher one
+travels up the river, the more numerous and densely populated are the
+villages until they extend almost without a break for many miles along
+the banks. Each one supplies us with a _bras_ of wood which is paid for
+with beads. The scenery here in the very centre of Africa is beautiful,
+range after range of hills, not however very high, extending as far as
+the eye can see. These are covered with grass, which near the villages
+is often burnt off, leaving black patches. On these the manioc will be
+planted for two years and then new areas will be cleared in the same
+manner. It is very hot in the day time and very humid, so that it is
+extremely difficult to preserve anything. Stitches rot in leather and
+the soles of boots fall off, guns and rifles have to be oiled carefully
+every day and cigars are completely spoilt in a few hours unless kept in
+tin boxes. Can one wonder therefore that the human system soon breaks
+down in this vapour bath and that sickness is very common in this part.
+There is not much game to be seen from the river but occasionally a
+covey of partridges rises from the grass and comes within gun shot of
+the launch.
+
+The day before we reached Banzyville we found the steamer of the French
+Company and paid a visit to the Director, where we drank to the
+Anglo-French agreement, news of which had just arrived. Every Frenchman
+in Africa is delighted with the gift of territory as every Englishman
+should be with the settlement of so many prickly questions.
+
+[Illustration: SANGO NATIVES OF THE UBANGI.]
+
+[Illustration: THE UPPER UBANGI]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+The Upper Ubangi.--Banzyville to Yakoma.
+
+
+Banzyville has been built on a beautiful site at a double bend of the
+river. Opposite is the French Post of Mobaie and between them roars a
+rapid. The country on each side is hilly, while the soil is rocky, great
+boulders of granite and quartz lying about in isolated grandeur. We
+reach the Post on the morning of September 26th and are met by Captain
+Auita, an Italian, who is the Zone Chief here. The buildings are
+arranged on two sides of a square, the other two being formed by the
+river as it turns to the left, and the open space is covered with gravel
+which makes a welcome change from sand and clay while the house placed
+at our disposal looks particularly inviting after a week of tents and
+the small launch. Everything is wet through and has to be spread out on
+the gravel to dry under nature's great fire. Unfortunately some of the
+skins, which perforce have been left in cases for a week, under water
+one minute and baked in the sun the next, have hopelessly rotted and
+have to be thrown away. Next morning we interviewed numbers of native
+Chiefs who were all very anxious to exchange lances and other
+curiosities for European clothes. All were content with _Bulamatadi_,
+although some grumbled at the necessity to find porters and paddlers.
+
+This is evidently one of the most populous districts in the whole Congo,
+for on all sides, both at the river edge and on the hill tops, are large
+villages consisting of tent-shaped huts and _shimbeks_, or square open
+sheds, under which the natives sit and sleep most of the day. Besides
+rubber, great quantities of rice are grown here, the plantations
+extending parallel to the river for more than two miles. Here men,
+women, and children are at work and those near the road come forward,
+give a military salute and shake hands, a custom peculiar to this part,
+for hitherto the women have not saluted and only the chiefs offered the
+hand. Many of the people have thin lips and Semitic noses and most are
+well made. As usual, if one meets a husband and wife, the former strolls
+ahead with a spear or stick, while the latter follows carrying a baby
+riding on one of her hips, tied on by her wrap of cloth, and with a
+heavy load of wood or food-stuff on her head. We cross the river in the
+evening and dine with Captain Meilleur at Mobaie. The French villages
+are identical with those on the State side, but the natives are, if
+possible, still more idle.
+
+Next morning much rubber is brought into Banzyville. Strings of natives,
+each with a little basket-full of this substance, march into the square
+and sit down in lines on the gravel. The baskets are then weighed on a
+yard arm and the weights entered in a book by Captain Auita until a
+record of the whole has been made when the chattering throng departs to
+a shed near by where five cooks have been hard at work preparing dinner
+for them. The natives here are paid in cloth at the rate of 50 or 60
+centimes a kilogramme according to the quality of the rubber and
+although each man is supposed to supply only one kilogramme a month some
+of the villages here send in more than a ton in that time.
+
+Mr. Fernaka, the second in command, arrived on the 28th after marching
+for thirty days in the interior over unexplored ground. He said it was
+mostly marsh land containing a few villages from which the inhabitants,
+seeing the white man approach with his soldiers, fled into the bush. At
+first indeed the natives are always fearful of the whites, but in a
+short time are willing to trade and soon become very friendly. The
+native, in fact, quickly acquires absolute confidence in Europeans and
+his fear at first is, obviously, only the fear of the unknown. It is
+rather amusing to see the children in villages where few white men have
+penetrated, run shrieking with terror to their mothers when a strange
+looking person, with a white face and clothes appears. At the sound of
+the launch whistle also many children run away. One of the soldiers, a
+sergeant of some years' standing who accompanied Mr. Fernaka on his
+arduous march, unfortunately contracted dysentery and arrived at
+Banzyville only to die. We attend the funeral, the absolute simplicity
+of the ceremony being very impressive. All the troops here, perhaps
+seventy or eighty marched with reversed arms to the cemetery after the
+buglers sounding the Last Post and lined up opposite the grave. The
+order was given to present arms, the coffin was lowered, each person
+present threw a handful of earth into the grave and all was over. Far
+into the night, however, one could hear the mournful dirge the soldiers
+were chanting for their dead comrade. Hunting here is difficult although
+game abounds, the grass being high enough to conceal antelopes and
+everything else except elephants. After a walk through rough country and
+water for six hours without success, I was glad to get into my hammock
+and was jogged back home by perspiring natives, who took turns to carry
+their burden and changed about every ten minutes. Altogether the hammock
+is not comfortable, and it is obviously useless hunting here until the
+grass is burnt. Next day, being very tired and stiff, I pass the time
+looking through _Civilisation in Congoland_ again. Having now visited
+many of the places mentioned in that book, the difficulties which beset
+a writer who publishes a work on a country he has never seen, become
+very apparent. In fact, it gives no more idea of the condition of the
+Congo than a file of the Police News would convey an impression of
+English civilisation. When one has visited some hundreds of villages and
+seen perhaps a million of natives, most of whom seem cheerful and
+contented, one marvels indeed how such absolutely false reports of the
+condition of the country can have originated. On the other hand, it is
+impossible to travel several thousands of miles in the Congo--especially
+in the unfrequented parts--without constantly wondering what is the
+extraordinary power which enables a few hundred white men, not only to
+govern as many million blacks, but to open up and develop a country as
+large as the continent of Europe, which a few years ago was absolutely
+unknown.
+
+We can dismiss at once the idea that the native is suppressed by
+military despotism, for the Posts are isolated and the number of troops
+in them merely sufficient to guard property and stores, that is to say,
+to fulfil the duties of policemen in England. At any moment the
+thousands of natives who live in or near the Posts, could overwhelm
+these small forces long before help could arrive from the next
+Government Station, in many cases a week's journey distant. The fact
+that they do not do so, is at least negative evidence that the white men
+do not ill treat the people. There is however, much positive evidence
+that the native has, not only a great respect, but also an affection for
+his new rulers, and it is not difficult to understand the reason, when
+we compare his fate before the advent of the Europeans with his
+condition at present.
+
+In each village was a Chief or Chiefs, freemen and slaves who passed
+their lives hunting and fighting other tribes. The sole property of the
+Chiefs and freemen were their huts, canoes, and slaves, and the rude
+instruments they used in war and hunting. The unfortunate slaves were
+bought and sold, captured in war and were often killed and eaten. One
+slave was worth so many goats, lances, or knives, and one large canoe
+would buy several women. Legislation rested with the Chiefs and trial by
+ordeal was common, but always so arranged that the result could be
+controlled by the judge. This is not the place however, to describe
+these interesting, if horrible practices.
+
+Now at present the people are rich beyond the wildest dreams of their
+ancestors for the value of the property of the great Chiefs has greatly
+increased, since they have dealt with Europeans. Again the Chief of a
+small village containing 1000 men supplies 1000 kilogrammes of rubber
+each month to the State for 50 centimes a kilo. To collect this amount
+takes two or three days; each year therefore the village receives L240
+for collecting a substance of no value at all to the natives whose daily
+routine in the meantime is scarcely affected at all. The natives used
+ivory chiefly to make war horns, but some of the Chiefs had so much that
+they constructed fences of fine points round their mud huts little
+thinking that in the white man's country, those useless tusks would be
+worth a small mountain of salt. Now they exchange them for clothes,
+cloth, salt, and other useful commodities. The lucky owner of a canoe,
+it is true, can no longer buy three or four slaves with it, but he can
+use it to transport produce or to catch fish, for which he is well paid.
+Again compare the lot of the slave in the past with his present
+condition. He was liable to the most terrible fate at any moment; now he
+can enter the army, work in the plantations or remain safely in his
+village and do a few hours' work each month. There is however, another
+force acting which we should hardly expect would affect the mind of a
+savage. He is greatly influenced by a desire to ascend the social
+ladder at the summit of which, is of course, the white man, and anyone
+having direct dealings with him, at once knows himself to be superior to
+the naked cannibal of the forest. The servant, or _boy_, of the white
+man, holds a high rank and considers himself to be quite another species
+of man than his cousin, who is still uncivilised. So also the soldiers
+and workers in the plantations, who come into daily contact with the
+officials. All the most intelligent and ambitious natives are thus drawn
+away from their primitive condition of life and become attached to their
+masters, who give them cloth to wear and beads with which to beautify
+themselves. The most important Chiefs are as anxious indeed to appear
+like Europeans, as a prosperous native of Sierra Leone, is to wear
+patent boots and carry a silk umbrella. There is one near here named
+Bayer, a young man of much intelligence and business capacity, who has
+built himself a brick house, dresses like a European, and is a proud man
+when he is asked to smoke a cigar on the verandah of the mess. The
+Chiefs are, however, never asked to eat with the Europeans, a
+distinction which is both necessary and wise.
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG SANGO GIRLS AT BANZYVILLE.]
+
+It daily becomes more and more obvious that the white man is greatly
+respected and that his word is absolutely trusted. What he says is true
+and what he promises, he does. The native appears to respect these
+characteristics perhaps all the more because he is so lamentably
+deficient in them himself.
+
+It is indeed the respect caused by moral not physical force which
+enables a few Europeans to govern this great country with success, and
+permits one or two white men to live securely with a few soldiers in an
+isolated Post surrounded by thousands of natives most of whom are
+savage cannibals.
+
+There are, however, many difficulties yet to be surmounted, and among
+them is the arrangement of a satisfactory currency. This was brought
+home forcibly on October 1st when according to weekly custom, the people
+in the villages around brought in food for the Post. Many women appeared
+with large bunches of bananas for which as a rule, they are paid by
+beads. In this prosperous part the heads of the women are already fully
+adorned with beads and most of their household ornaments also, so they
+demanded cloth instead.
+
+The question of the currency is a very difficult one. There is the
+danger of flooding the banks of the Congo with mitakos, and the banks of
+the Ubangi with beads. In other words these articles which function as
+money are not used as rapidly as they are supplied, and a lady whose
+limbs are already weighted with brass rings and whose head is heavy with
+beads, wishes for some other payment. There is a warehouse at each of
+the State Posts in which cloth, clothes, beads, salt, and many other
+commodities likely to be of use to the natives are kept, but it is
+manifestly impossible to give as wages to each individual the particular
+object he desires at the particular moment. The objection to beads and
+mitakos, does not apply to salt and cloth, the former being at once
+consumed, and the latter being worn out in course of time. Nevertheless
+it is not well to have a currency which is continually being formed only
+to be destroyed. The money currency, already existing in the Lower Congo
+will, however, in course of time be extended, but there are still many
+difficulties in the way. Francs and centimes will of course be of no
+use to the natives, unless Stores are still kept at the State Posts at
+which they can buy whatever they wish. This great question is, however,
+occupying the careful attention of the Government, and will no doubt be
+settled as satisfactorily as many others have been which were equally
+difficult.
+
+Sunday is always an interesting day in a State Post, for the Chiefs with
+many followers come in for a friendly chat and to ask advice. October
+2nd was particularly exciting for a new Chief had been elected in a
+village near Banzyville, and great rejoicings consequently followed.
+Singing, shouting, dancing and a general hubbub, went on from morning to
+night, and if the desire to make a noise is any criterion of happiness,
+these people must be the happiest in the world. There are many forms of
+dances; sometimes each one shuffles his legs without moving more than a
+foot or two and then swings his arms, head and body solemnly backwards
+and forwards; sometimes a number will form a ring, and one after the
+other will leap into it and rapidly rotate themselves; but whatever the
+form, all seemed to be keenly excited and to enjoy it thoroughly.
+
+The natives near the Ubangi have a very distinctive tatouage. It
+consists of five elevated knobs of skin which form a straight line
+continuing the line of the nose up the forehead. These are formed by
+making for each knob two parallel incisions in the skin about half an
+inch apart and lifting the flap between. A piece of ivory is then
+inserted under the flap and left in until the wound has healed, the
+result being a knob of skin elevated above the level of the rest of the
+surface. All the tatouage in the Congo consists in raising the skin in
+this manner, but in each district the design is different. Simple
+tatooing by pricking in colours does not appear to be practised at all.
+
+Fishing here is very simple and very effective. Large baskets tapering
+to a point and open at the broad end are fixed by ropes, or rather by
+the strong vines which function as ropes here, just at the top of the
+rapids and the water rushes through with great force. The fish are
+carried into the baskets, but cannot pass through or return against the
+current, and are then simply speared and lifted out. They have firm,
+white flesh and are good eating.
+
+On October 3rd the Chief of the Banzas comes to the Post to call. He is
+a fine, intelligent-looking man and rules his people, who are very
+numerous, admirably. In this part of the Congo, the chieftainship
+descends from father to son, but in some districts the succession passes
+through the family of the wife of the Chief.
+
+Numerous petty Chiefs drop in to the Post at intervals during the day
+and are rather a nuisance, for they are always begging for clothes and
+offering lances and presents in exchange. They do not realise that one
+does not carry a superfluity of clothes when travelling, or that one or
+two lances are quite sufficient to keep as curios. Probably they think
+we are traders for we are not _bulamatadi_, and no one I believe, has
+ever ascended the Ubangi on a pleasure tour before. The newly-elected
+Chief was very anxious to be given a suit of clothes as he had none and
+wished to make an impression on his new subjects. He described with many
+gestures, that he was elected with much beating of drums, which indeed
+was only too true and said he always intended to remain a great friend
+of the State. After that, of course he had to be given some clothes. The
+system of giving _tips_. indiscriminately is however, carried much too
+far in the State, and if it is not stopped, will soon prove to be a very
+heavy tax on the white man. Every native demands a tip on every possible
+occasion whether he has done a service or not, and if he has done some
+work and is only paid his due, is as discontented and abusive as a
+cabman who has only received his legal fare.
+
+There are many native thieves all over the Congo--one of them actually
+penetrated into the house of Captain Auita at midday in bright sunshine
+and stole a spear and a native knife. He was however, soon caught and
+marched off to prison. Trials by ordeal used to be very common among the
+natives. A favourite method was to give a dose of strychnine to a fowl
+and if it died, the accused was guilty, but if it lived, he was
+innocent. The wretched fowl, feeling in any case very ill, walked about
+wondering at the excitement and followed by the complainant shouting
+"die, die, die, fowl" and the defendant shouting "live, live, live,
+fowl." The strength of the solution was always arranged by the judge so
+the verdict was known to him beforehand. A curious instrument to take
+the place of a jury, is a nut through which a piece of fibre has been
+passed in such a way, that when it is held vertically, the nut slides up
+and down. By a curious twist of the fibre however, it is possible to
+prevent the nut falling. At the trial, the nut is raised to the top of
+the string and if it stays there, the accused is innocent, but if it
+falls, he is guilty. Here again, the judge can make the machine decide
+either way at his will.
+
+Among the many objectionable insects of the Congo is the _jigger_, a
+kind of sand fly which burrows under the skin, usually of a toe, and
+deposits eggs in a sack there. Unless these are removed an abscess
+forms. The natives sit about calmly removing jiggers from each other's
+feet with needles, and show considerable skill in this small operation.
+It is necessary therefore never to move about with bare feet, for the
+boys carry them into every place.
+
+Much ivory comes into the Post at intervals, the points sometimes
+weighing 70 or 80 lbs. each. The State preserves the elephant very
+strictly, and the export duty on tusks above 6 kilos in weight, is 21
+frs. per kilo. Still it is not likely that the Congo will continue to
+yield such large quantities of ivory, for the elephant only bears one
+offspring in three years and the growth of the baby is very slow. There
+is a baby elephant here one year old. He stands about 4 feet, 6 inches
+high, and has no sign of tusks at present. He is fed on rice, milk and
+bananas and is a playful little fellow. A tame ape here fears the
+elephant very much and at his approach at once clings to the native who
+tends him or climbs over his shoulder, so as to place the boy's body
+always between himself and the elephant.
+
+On Monday October 10th we prepare to continue our journey up river. We
+shall now require six or seven canoes, as they are not so large as the
+ones lower down and our crews, servants, escort and camp followers total
+up to nearly two hundred. Captain Auita sends a few State capitas with
+us and Captain Meilleur lends us some French soldiers belonging to the
+1st Senegalese Tirailleurs, a splendid set of fellows, very smart in
+their khaki uniforms. We can, therefore, land with impunity on either
+side of the river, _i.e._ in the French or the State Congo, and be able
+to communicate with the Chiefs, for it will be rather difficult perhaps
+to feed so many people.
+
+Next day we start amid the most terrific din. Each of the seven canoes
+carries one or two tom-toms and some have also native bells. All the
+capitas and most of the paddlers shout orders to each other which no one
+regards, even if they hear them, while the friends of the paddlers howl
+farewells from the beach. At length however, the baggage is arranged and
+the little fleet starts in single file, for each canoe hugs the bank.
+Before half an hour had elapsed my canoe struck a rock and stuck on it.
+Fortunately we were not travelling faster than two miles an hour, or a
+hole would have been made in the bottom. As it was, it was necessary for
+half the crew to go overboard, stand on the rock, and lift the canoe
+off. Never was a ship so speedily lightened, and in a few moments we
+were once more afloat.
+
+The river now passes through a kind of gorge not more than half a mile
+wide and continues between hills clad with long grass but after an hour
+or two, it widens out again and the banks become low. The heat is great
+and the unceasing blows on the tom-tom within three feet of one's ears
+are very annoying, but if it is stopped, the crew no longer keep good
+time, and the boat, therefore, travels very slowly. The singing, on the
+other hand, is by no means unpleasant. One of the crew sings a solo, a
+kind of recitative, the words being an extempore criticism, as a rule,
+of the white passenger, and then the whole join in chorus in perfect
+harmony. The music is now wild and weird, now passionate and joyful, but
+always natural. There is nothing of the catch penny type of ditties,
+which become popular in England and America, in these savage African
+songs, nor are they in the least like Chinese or Indian music. The
+instruments are rudimentary; simple zithers, rattles, bells and a kind
+of guitar, but it is probable that all these, except the bells, have
+been introduced by the Europeans or Arabs.
+
+On we creep slowly until we reach the island of Ya which belongs to the
+State. All the other islands, except Bamu, being no man's land. Here we
+land at a large village and while the boys are arranging the camp, we
+see that our party are all fed. The Chiefs are requested to provide
+food, and soon nearly two hundred women appear, each with a wooden
+vessel containing a ration of kwanga, palm oil, salad, bananas,
+plantains, fish, meat, or a general mixture. These they deposit on the
+ground and stand at attention each behind the meal she has prepared. The
+sergeants and capitas distribute the rations among the soldiers and
+paddlers, and at an order of the Chief, the whole crowd disappears into
+the huts. Then we eat our dinner, consisting of the usual chicken and
+eggs, have a game of two-handed bridge and turn in.
+
+Suddenly shrieks are heard coming from a hut and we order the sentry to
+discover the cause. He soon appears with one of our paddlers, who states
+that another one stole his ration, and when he endeavoured to get it
+back, beat him severely. We order him therefore more food, and decide to
+investigate the case in the morning.
+
+Next day after giving cloth to the Chiefs in payment for the food, we
+send for the youth who made so much noise in the night. A poleman now
+stated that the boy had stolen his loin cloth and that therefore he had
+beaten him. This story contradicted the other and further native
+evidence complicated the story still more, so after explaining to the
+poleman that he had no right to beat the boy, even if he were one of his
+crew, and that if such a thing occurred again, he would be severely
+punished, we decided to take no further action.
+
+One of the French soldiers now appeared and told a romantic story. He
+had found a long lost blood sister in the village, the mutual
+recognition being confirmed by the tribal marks. Both had been sold as
+slaves when children; he had drifted into the French native army and she
+had married one of the subjects of the State. Now she wished to leave
+her husband and go away with her brother, who was willing to pay
+compensation for her loss if necessary. As this seemed to raise some
+delicate questions, we refused to take any step, except to report the
+matter to the proper authorities.
+
+After these delays, we started up the river, lined on both sides by
+thickly populated villages. About midday an excited crowd stopped us at
+one of these and asked for our help. As everyone shouted at once and
+probably no one told the truth, it was difficult to discover what was
+the matter, but some women were missing from the French Congo and an
+elephant from the State, and the natives on each bank wished the white
+men to punish those on the other. As private travellers, of course we
+could take no action, even if we had wished, and continued on our way
+already two or three hours late. At length at 6 p.m., Zinga is reached,
+a large village with a fine plantation, and here we camp.
+
+Just above the village the rapids are so strong that it is dangerous to
+take the canoes up charged, and it is necessary to carry all the baggage
+for about three miles across country until smooth water is reached
+again. The capitas wished to attempt the ascent with the canoes full,
+for the native dislikes carrying, more than anything else. We explain
+that if it is necessary for the white men, who can swim, to walk, how
+much more necessary is it to carry the baggage, which would at once sink
+if the canoes capsized. However, this did not convince them and
+Europeans who have had accidents on the river say, that although the
+whole crew, who all swim like fishes, go to the assistance of the white
+man when a canoe capsizes, not one will take the trouble to rescue the
+baggage. Probably the native, whose personal property is limited to a
+loin cloth, thinks all other possessions are useless vanities and not
+worth troubling about. The view here is very beautiful, the river taking
+a double bend between hills which are well wooded and traversed by
+mountain torrents of clear water hastening to join the main stream
+roaring in its rocky bed below. Numerous pintades are usually found
+here, the finest game bird for eating in the whole of Africa, and I go
+ahead of the bearers to search for them, but see nothing of interest.
+
+[Illustration: THE STATE POST AT DJABIR.]
+
+By 8 a.m. the canoes have all passed the rapids, and are charged again,
+so once more we make a start. Soon another rapid is reached which it is
+impossible to negotiate with the paddles. Some of the crew therefore, go
+overboard and standing on the rocks up to their waists in water,
+literally lift the boat up foot by foot until the top is reached.
+After this the river widens again and the current is not so strong. One
+of the canoes is now reserved as a kitchen and carries the goats,
+chickens and other food. It is interesting to watch Luembo sitting
+smoking his pipe over the fire as he cooks the lunch. Nothing disturbs
+his calm serenity and he goes on philosophically making soup even in the
+roughest water. When lunch is ready we stop by the bank, the kitchen
+comes alongside and the hot, strong soup is very acceptable, for it is
+impossible to eat much in the heat of the day.
+
+At night time we decide to stop at the mouth of the Koto river, where is
+a post of the Trading Company of that name, and the two agents there
+kindly extend hospitality to us. Some of the natives here show well
+marked Semitic features and a few, oddly enough, have eyes shaped like
+the Chinese. They are all ready to bring rations for the paddlers and
+accept payment without comment. Indeed, the native never says "thank
+you," but as he speedily lets you know when he is dissatisfied, silence
+obviously means contentment. The Company has a rubber plantation and a
+well kept farm with cows, pigs and sheep which live healthily here.
+
+The Koto river is almost as large as the continuation of the Ubangi and
+rises far away up north. Passing it we continue ascending between banks,
+on which villages are practically continuous the whole way until we
+reach Gumba, a large village on the French side with a hospitable Chief
+and a mud guest house. In this we store the baggage and arrange to sleep
+on the verandah which has fortunately a water-tight, roof for the almost
+daily tornado happened to be of an unusually violent description. The
+lightning is practically continuous and of a vivid, blinding green
+colour; the thunder sounds as if whole streets have been struck and
+knocked down, while the rain descends like the stream of a shower bath.
+
+The Chief's house in this village is oblong, but at the two ends of the
+roof, spire-like tops are affixed, similar to those on the rest of the
+huts in the village. They are not ornamental nor useful, but interesting
+as marking a native characteristic on a house copied from those in the
+Government Posts.
+
+Next morning it was still raining hard, so we waited in the dry without
+anxiety, as we knew the journey to Yakoma would only take five or six
+hours, but about 10 a.m. having emptied the canoes, which were full of
+water, we arranged the baggage and made a start. Village succeeded
+village, in which were numerous people elaborately decorated with beads
+and paint, but not otherwise covered. All the Chiefs were well disposed
+and presented eggs or chicken, and took the cloth or salt offered in
+return without grumbling. About midday we reached the commencement of
+the Yakoma village, which extends for some miles along the bank. Most of
+the crew were evidently well known here and several lived in the
+village. Their well-meaning friends therefore, jumped on to the canoes
+as they passed or swam out to them and took the paddles and poles from
+their tired comrades. With a greatly augmented company, with the canoes
+dangerously deep in the water, with tom-toms beating, bells ringing,
+bugles sounding and people shouting, we arrived at Yakoma about 5 p.m.
+on October 15th thus completing a voyage along the whole length of the
+Ubangi river.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Yakoma to Djabir.
+
+
+Yakoma is built on the banks of the Uele just before it joins with the
+Bomu to form the Ubangi. The voyage up that river from its entrance into
+the Congo to its source here occupied seven weeks of which half the
+time, however, was spent in State Posts. Canoe travelling is terribly
+tiring, although one merely sits still in a hammock chair all day, and
+it has not been by any means comfortable camping in the forest during or
+after the daily tornado. Still the trip has been very interesting for
+this is one of the least known parts of the world and the people are
+probably the least civilised.
+
+This experience brought home the fact with something like a shock that
+human nature is much the same everywhere and that if the savage leads
+the life practically of an animal, he is at the same time not very much
+unlike modern civilised man. He does not wear clothes, but he is very
+vain and adorns himself with beads and bangles, his hair dressing
+requiring hours of patient labour. He is often as pleased at being
+photographed as a young fashionable beauty and, if a warrior, is as
+proud of the paint which shows he has killed some one in battle, as a
+soldier is of his medals. He is frankly commercial in his dealings and
+as anxious to say what he thinks will please his guest as the most
+tactful of society's hostesses. He is as keen to win in a canoe race as
+any undergrad in his college boat and is a genuine and true sportsman.
+He is very jealous as a husband and devoted as a father, characteristics
+common both to animals and to the most intellectual of men. He is, as a
+Chief, by no means hard on his subjects although his punishments are
+barbarous and his sense of justice not greatly developed. He eats human
+flesh but not the diseased livers of geese and he prefers his meat
+decomposing as some like their game. He takes no more thought for the
+morrow than many civilised people who live from hand to mouth without
+considering the future and finally he sees the world from his point of
+view and has little desire to discuss that of others. Mr. Van Luttens
+the Chef du Poste kindly meets us and places a house at our disposal. We
+then read our mail, the first news from home since July, and glance
+through the newspapers. The country around Yakoma is flat and as there
+is no sign of forest, the plantation consists of rubber bushes only.
+Much rice is also grown here and at one time a large amount of coffee
+was raised from plants brought from Liberia but these have since died.
+The native coffee, however, does well and is certainly as good as any in
+the world, so it seems to be wiser to cultivate this and to leave
+foreign varieties alone.
+
+This is one of the very few places in the Congo where the cows give
+more milk than is required by their calves, and where butter can be
+made. The farm is well stocked with horses and cattle for breeding
+purposes which function they fulfil very well, the foals and calves
+looking strong and healthy. All the Chiefs in the neighbourhood come and
+call upon us. They are all very rich, powerful and loyal in this
+district and delight in wearing European clothes or uniforms. One of
+them was dressed in an old naval uniform with an antique sword and
+another as a captain in the State service although he had no right to
+wear the uniform of the Force Publique at all. Just opposite Yakoma on
+the opposite bank of the Uele is a village for retired soldiers where
+they have their own gardens and plantations and live a life of ease but
+are not pensioned. The term of service is for three or seven years with
+option of signing for another three years after the long period with
+increased pay and another three years if desired after that. It is not
+at all uncommon to find sergeants who have served ten or twelve years
+and they are always very responsible men.
+
+As usual the people offer us many native articles in return for cloth
+and we add to our already large collection.
+
+As there is no big game near at hand I decide to make a collection of
+small birds, of which there are very many here, with most beautiful
+plumage. Unfortunately I have no smaller shot than 5-1/2 and it is
+difficult to avoid damaging the smaller varieties. However, by firing
+with the full choke barrel at about fifty yards two or three pellets
+almost always hit even the smallest birds. A very good method of
+preserving them is to inject formol into the bodies which at once
+stiffen out and become rigid in any position they are placed. Birds can
+thus be set with the wings extended in a flying position or as if
+roosting, the effect being much prettier than any which can be obtained
+by stuffing. If is however, necessary to arrange them and inject very
+soon after they are dead for if rigor mortis once sets in, it is
+impossible to alter the position assumed by the head and wings. There
+were great numbers of beautiful birds in the plantation and it was easy
+to obtain over a dozen different specimens in less than an hour[3].
+Red-legged partridges are also found here in the rice, but as in Europe
+this variety will not rise and one may walk all day hearing the familiar
+call on all sides and only obtain one or two shots.
+
+On October 19th I had my first attack of fever, which was not severe and
+soon yielded to phenacetin. It was however, rather a disappointment for
+I had taken five grains of quinine regularly every day since arriving in
+the Congo. The fever ran the same course that it used to do in India ten
+years ago but as it only once appeared in England during that period, I
+hoped it had gone for ever. Hundreds of mosquitoes hummed around with
+the ambitious idea presumably of carrying the germs to some other
+unfortunate.
+
+[Illustration: THE RIVER NEAR BANZYVILLE.]
+
+As we shall now leave the French frontier and travel altogether in State
+territory we send the Senegalese escort down the river back to their
+station at Mobaie. The sergeant who was in charge was a most responsible
+man and was evidently held in great respect by the Chiefs of the French
+villages through which we passed. One day a Chief was greatly
+disturbed because two men from his village had migrated into State
+territory. Although this is against the law it is apparently not a very
+unusual occurrence. Generally these emigrants have committed some crime
+and are fleeing from justice. One Chief, however, at Banzyville stated
+he had left the State territory because he objected to working rubber
+and had returned because he objected still more to paying the tax in the
+French Congo. It is impossible indeed to say which side gains by this
+emigration but it is very evident that it is not altogether one-sided
+and not great enough to affect seriously the size of the population of
+either the French or Free State Congo.
+
+In Yakoma the people are paid chiefly by beads and salt and it is
+interesting to watch the long string of workers filing to the office of
+the Chef du Poste on Saturday, each one carrying a plate, a tin can or
+some other receptacle in which to receive his wages.
+
+On October 22nd we decide to pack up and move on. The skins of the
+larger birds the toucans, razor-bills and serpent birds are keeping very
+badly but those of the monkeys, leopards and antelopes are in better
+condition. It is however, doubtful if they will last, for to preserve
+them it is necessary to hang them out in the sun every day which is
+obviously impossible when travelling. As a small native war is in
+progress higher up the Uele, Mr. Van Luttens kindly arranges to
+accompany us for the first three days in order to ensure that relays of
+paddlers shall be forthcoming for many of those gentlemen have forsaken
+the wooden blade for the iron lance. We are therefore a large party on
+October 23rd when we leave Yakoma in a drizzling rain, the remains of
+the usual nightly tornado. Although the paddlers wear no clothes and do
+not hesitate to jump into the water at any moment it is curious that
+they dislike rain very much and never work so well as when a hot sun is
+shining. The least diminution of temperature indeed affects them very
+much and they sit drowsily over the fire hugging themselves, being
+aroused to action only with difficulty. We number now about two hundred
+including the thirty soldiers and armed capitas, but as the current is
+not very strong we make good headway through somewhat flat and
+uninteresting country until we arrive at Prekissa, a large village on
+the north bank of the Uele.
+
+Here we were received by the Chief of the Abira tribe, a great potentate
+who sat in a long hammock chair surrounded by courtiers and ministers
+squatting on the ground and holding spears of state on each side of him.
+Having welcomed us he escorted us through the village which is of great
+extent and well arranged. Opposite his square hut or palace is the Guard
+House in which are a few soldiers armed with cap-guns for he has some
+independent authority and the power of life and death in certain limited
+cases. Behind the palace are many rows of round huts close together. Not
+a soul is visible or a sound heard for these are the quarters of the
+wives of the Chief and except the official lady who acts as legal queen
+none are presented to the white men. The present Chief is a keen
+commercial man and understands the advantage of being on good terms with
+the Slate for he has a large rubber plantation and also works metals.
+The blast furnace is most interesting. It is simply a pit about two
+feet wide and deep formed by banking up clay and earth for several feet
+around which has been dried by the great heat of the furnace into a hard
+stony substance. Indeed at first sight the pit looks like a hole dug in
+solid rock. In it is placed iron stone and wood charcoal which is
+lighted and a blast made by several pairs of bellows formed of antelope
+skins. The molten metal is not run off but remains with the slag in the
+pit until it is cool when the latter is chipped away and the shapeless
+mass of iron is ready to be worked into spears and lances by the
+blacksmiths. Probably this method is a very ancient one indeed, and it
+is curious that it should resemble so closely the modern Bessemer
+process for making steel. Having walked through the village we return to
+our camp on the river bank and the Chief presents spears. He then
+proceeds to ask for anything he takes a fancy to in return. We had
+already given him cloth much more valuable than his lances when he
+suddenly demanded tobacco. I gave him the contents of my pouch and he
+then asked for that also. He next asked me to give him my jacket and
+finally wished to buy my cap for two ivory finger rings. To receive a
+present from a Congo chief is thus a very expensive honour. He then sat
+down and smoked while we eat, for it is contrary to custom to ask a
+native to dine at the same table as a white man.
+
+We start again next morning at 6 a.m. The banks of the river are now
+assuming an equatorial appearance for we are in the third degree of
+latitude and palms grow in great profusion but the country is flat and
+uninteresting. About midday we land at Gembele, a large village with an
+extensive plantation. The Chief is a young, good-looking man with
+refined European features and a very gentlemanly manner. He owns a large
+island, many iron and copper mines and is very wealthy. When one was
+introduced to him he pointed with pride to the State medal he was
+wearing round his neck, a medal which is given to all Chiefs of whose
+election or succession the Government approves. An important feature of
+this village is a round enclosure built of trunks of trees and roofed
+with leaves which serves as a Chamber of State wherein discussions take
+place and justice is administered. Gembele only succeeded his father a
+year ago and among other responsibilities he has to take care of
+numerous wives, step mothers and aunts, the legacies of his father and
+uncles. They seem, however, to be well-disciplined for they were sunning
+themselves when we suddenly appeared round a corner but at a wave of the
+hand of the boy of the Chief, they all rushed for cover and not one
+turned round to try and catch a glimpse of the white men. Possibly they
+have peep-holes in the walls of their huts for it would be too much to
+expect them to have no feminine curiosity. Gembele is evidently
+respected by his people but he has a somewhat serious look as though he
+felt the cares of his position heavily. There is a strong rapid opposite
+the village so we allow the canoes to go up empty and enter them again
+above it. It is now intensely hot and progress is slow but we reach the
+village of Sembile before sundown and pitch our tents in a clearing. The
+huts here are still round and the people practically nude but the custom
+of wearing beads has disappeared and very few are painted.
+
+There is a bright moon which acts here as a clock by night as the sun
+does by day. As the latter passes practically straight overhead it is
+astonishingly easy to tell the time within half an hour after a very
+little practice. It is more difficult to use the moon as the point of
+the hour-hand and requires some care. This, however, is the only means
+the sentry has of determining 5 a.m. when we wish to be roused for he
+could not read a watch.
+
+We start again at daylight and ascend the river to Voro where we land
+with all baggage for the rapids here are so strong that it is necessary
+to walk for several miles. We therefore start in a procession of more
+than one hundred people along a narrow foot-path while the crews take up
+the empty canoes. The guide leads and I follow next, hoping to shoot any
+game that may exist in the neighbourhood before it is disturbed by the
+bearers. It is, however, speedily apparent that with the exception of
+birds it will not be possible to see any game at all for the grass is
+very thick and about eight feet high. After a time my gun weighs heavy
+so I give it to a bearer and a moment after two fine pheasants rise a
+few yards away. All around is evidence of game. Great tracts through the
+grass where the stately elephant has passed to drink at the river, spoor
+of buffalo and antelope at every water course and yet not a sign of life
+now for the sun is high up and a hundred bearers are yelling and singing
+close behind. After walking for about two hours we reach forest and
+enter its welcome shade. A small stream prattles cheerfully along under
+the trees and as the path several times passes through it we keep our
+feet comfortably cool. About 2 p.m. we reach a village beautifully
+situated on a slope in the midst of dense forest. This is protected on
+all sides by a strong stockade twelve feet high for leopards abound and
+when game is difficult to find do not hesitate to enter villages and
+carry off people. Here we halt for lunch and then on again through the
+forest full of cuckoo pheasants. These are not much more difficult to
+shoot than hand reared birds at home although they fly higher to clear
+the tall trees. They do not, however, appear to travel very quickly but
+this may be a delusion as it is difficult to judge distance in Africa.
+No other game birds come within range. Late in the afternoon we reach
+Bogosi, a large clean and well arranged village. The Chief is a pleasant
+fellow perfectly willing to sell us food for our party; and monkeys,
+tortoises or anything else we may desire for ourselves. Here we change
+all our paddlers the present ones going back to their villages. As the
+tribe is at war with one higher up the river, Mr. Van Luttens thought it
+might be difficult to obtain paddlers here and so came himself. With his
+aid, however, the difficulty vanished for he arranged with the Chief
+that the paddlers who took us to Djabir should not be called upon to do
+any more work for the State for nine months. That is to say that the
+enforced forty hours a month would work out at six or seven days
+paddling in nine months and as each man was liberally paid in cloth no
+one could possibly say that he was used hardly. Having bathed in the
+swiftly running river we dined in the enclosure which did duty as the
+Council Chamber and then thoroughly tired turned in early.
+
+It was not until 9 a.m. in the morning that we could make a start for
+all the baggage had to be fitted into the canoes and the paddlers
+arranged in their places. The first day with new crews is always a
+trouble but this is never repeated for the native has a good memory and
+every bale, bag, gun and even small articles like books are taken from
+the canoes each evening and put back in identically the same place in
+the morning. This is remarkable when one thinks that some hundreds of
+separate articles have to be placed in one of seven or eight different
+canoes in one particular place.
+
+The river is heavily in flood for this is the end of the wet season and
+the current is very strong indeed. Soon we come to the first rapid and
+one of the men drops his pole overboard at the critical moment. The
+other two, however, hold the canoe up by pressing against the rocks
+while the water whirls past within an inch of the edge of the little
+craft. At a word from the capita one of the paddlers jumps into the
+rushing water, rescues the pole and lands safely with it on the bank,
+fifty or sixty yards below. All the Sangos swim like salmon but cannot
+of course leap up rapids. They however, swim so powerfully that they
+steer clear of the rocks and reach the side even in the swiftest
+current. On we go slowly struggling up rapid after rapid and when it is
+impossible to paddle and pole the canoes against the stream the crew
+stand on the rocks and lift them up. Sometimes the drop is three feet at
+one spot and it is perfectly marvellous how these men can thus stand
+waist deep in the water. Naturally we ship a good deal of water which
+wets everything through and through but the crew take this as a matter
+of course and bale it out at intervals while the boys take care the
+firearms are not injured. The amount of actual work the crew do must be
+enormous yet they never seem fatigued and sing as lustily at the end as
+at the beginning of the day. At length we pass the island of Mutemu and
+seek for a place for a camp. There is not much choice for the forest is
+very dense here and it is necessary in every place to clear the
+undergrowth before the tents can be pitched. Then fires are lighted and
+all are soon asleep.
+
+We start again at daybreak and at once commence the fight with the
+rapids. Soon after a Chief appears in a canoe, and having explained that
+he is at war with a neighbouring tribe hopes it will not inconvenience
+the white man. On being asked why he is fighting he states that he has
+lost two women and thinks they have been stolen. I then told him war was
+a mistake and I hoped he would make peace as soon as possible, at which
+he looked a little surprised and answered that he expected to be
+successful and capture several women as well as men.
+
+The navigation of the Uele at this part of its course is so difficult
+that there are very few villages on its banks for the native who lives
+near a stream hardly ever walks and he will not settle unless he can
+travel by canoe. For this reason there is often no pathway at all
+between villages only a mile or two apart on the river bank. The few
+people there are have probably never seen a white man for as far as one
+can ascertain no one has been up here for ten years. However, where
+there is a village the Chief comes on board and presents a chicken.
+About midday the kitchen canoe paddles by with fire alight and pot
+boiling. Soon after Chikaia shouts: _Le cuisinier est tombe dans l'eau_,
+and a little way ahead is seen a canoe apparently upside down close to
+the bank and twelve or fifteen black heads bobbing up and down in the
+water. Mountmorres is just ahead in his canoe and easily within reach
+but to my surprise his paddlers suddenly turn away from the bank and
+make for mid-stream evidently straining every muscle. Turning round I
+order my crew to pull rapidly to the rescue but to my disgust they also
+turn into mid-stream and take no notice of my command. Having asked
+Chikaia the meaning of this he replied: _La petite bete qui mange
+l'homme_. Chikaia's knowledge of zoology and French being somewhat
+limited every animal is for him either a _petite_. or a _grande
+bete_. The information was therefore not very valuable for it was
+impossible to imagine what small beast was in the habit of eating
+people. Thinking, however, of a crocodile I took my rifle but Chikaia
+laughed and said: "_Non, non, la petite._" By this time we were well out
+in mid-stream opposite the kitchen canoe which--to add to the
+mystery--was not upset at all. The cook, the crew, the goats and the
+fowls were all, however, in the water. No danger was apparent for the
+crew were swimming at their ease and hoisting the live stock back into
+the canoe. It is useless being astonished at anything in Africa and
+there was obviously nothing to do but sit still while the crew raced
+along as fast as they could paddle. In a few minutes they pulled into
+the bank and there we waited for the kitchen which presently appeared
+with the cook reclining in the arms of one of the crew and moaning: "_Je
+mart, je mort_." After a rapid examination, however, I could find
+nothing at all the matter. At length we discover the truth. His canoe
+had run into a large hornet's nest hanging from the branch of a tree and
+he had been stung in the head. To avoid further damage, he and the whole
+of the crew not only jumped into the water themselves but threw all the
+live stock overboard as well, for the natives believe that the sting of
+this insect kills and they fear it more than an encounter with a wild
+beast. The cook was therefore in a highly hysterical condition and no
+doubt in considerable pain also although no mark of a sting could be
+discovered, amidst his thick curly black hair. Still I took him into my
+canoe, gave him whisky internally and bathed his head with permanganate
+of potassium and he was quite well next day. After this delay we
+struggle on until just before dark we reached the worst rapid on the
+river the Kandoko Falls, up which the canoes are lifted inch by inch.
+Everything was already wet so the fact that a terrific tornado burst
+before we could pitch the tents added but little to our discomfort.
+
+On again at daybreak and after one or two ineffectual attempts to
+negotiate the last strong rapid on this piece of the river we conquer it
+and reach smooth water. In the course of the morning a canoe intercepts
+us in which is a native dressed as a State capita and armed with a gun.
+He says he has been sent by a white man to tell us not to sound our
+tom-toms as it will attract the hostile tribe and they will attack our
+camp. We ask for the letter for white men never send verbal messages by
+natives and when it was not forthcoming became suspicious that our
+visitor was spying our strength. We told him that we were peaceful
+travellers, that we should beat our tom-toms as much as we liked and
+camp where we wished and that if the tribe attacked us we should defend
+ourselves. Probably our rifles made an impression for we were not
+molested at all during the day and at night camped in the village of the
+hostile tribe. Our paddlers indeed fraternised with the enemy, against
+whom they would have been fighting if they had not been employed by us.
+
+[Illustration: THE SULTAN OF DJABIR.]
+
+The usual tornado burst in the night and we did not make a start until
+7 a.m. when we continued up the river and passed several villages before
+2 p.m. when Djabir came in sight. The view of the town from the distance
+is very pretty indeed. In the centre is an old fort with four towers now
+partly demolished and on each side the houses of the officials
+stretching along the river bank. Here we land two hours afterwards and
+feel that at last we shall have a night's rest without fear that our
+habitation will be blown away or soaked with water.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[3] Now in the British Museum (Natural History).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Across Uele.--Djabir to Ibembo.
+
+
+Djabir is a disappointing place. Although very imposing from a distance
+it is being rebuilt at present and at close quarters it becomes obvious
+that some of the old houses are in a very bad state of repair. Some
+welcome newspapers meet us here and I am delighted to learn that the
+Government has passed the Licensing Bill and that the Japanese are still
+successful. The Sultan of Djabir sent his brother a young gentleman who
+has been educated and speaks French, to present a small ivory war-horn
+and to demand several times its value in cloth. Afterwards he sold us
+some other articles but, although he received full value for them he
+repented of his bargain next day and demanded them back again. Of course
+we let him take them. The Sultan himself seems to be equally difficult
+to deal with and although the State has given him the rank of Captain in
+the Force Publique and tried to humour him in every way he is not a good
+subject. His village has the usual characteristics with some signs of
+Arab civilisation.
+
+Lord Mountmorres is now anxious to hasten to Bumba for the rest of the
+mail and if necessary to send a special courier to Coquilhatville with a
+cablegram while I arrange to follow more slowly and hunt the country in
+between. He therefore leaves Djabir on October 31st taking only one boy
+and a little baggage. It is a very hot day and at night-time a heavy
+tornado bursts over the Post. I wake up in a pool of water for the roof
+leaks badly and by bad luck just over my bed. Having moved this to a dry
+spot it is possible to sleep but not for long for the mosquito net was
+fixed to the wall where I left it forgetting the little pests. It is now
+a question of bites or water and as the latter seems cooler I replace
+the bed and fixing the roof of the net on the slope so that the heaviest
+part of the shower will run off, pass the rest of the night in
+comparative comfort. It is indeed time the place was rebuilt for at
+present Djabir has a depressing air of former greatness and present
+decay. As there are no elephants near and the antelopes are very small,
+I arrange to leave on November 1st but on starting to repack find many
+of the antelope skins are rotten and order them to be thrown away while
+the native lances and spears are covered with red rust, and have to be
+cleaned, smeared with palm oil and repacked.
+
+I start next morning to cross Uele, but as it is impossible to obtain
+more than thirty five porters some of the baggage has to be left behind.
+The loads are carried here in rather a curious manner. The porters make
+a hand of coarse grass fibres and pass it over the crown of the head
+which is inclined forwards. The band is attached to the bale or box
+which itself rests on the back between the shoulders. Then leaning
+forward the porter, carrying 50 lbs, walks at 3-1/2 miles an hour over
+rough roads for three or four hours with scarcely a stop. Having crossed
+the river the caravan is formed and at once strikes along the path
+through the villages on the opposite bank to Djabir.
+
+We are now on a frequented route and the villages and people show far
+more signs of the influence of the white man than those on the Ubangi.
+The huts are square, thatched with leaves and have verandahs while most
+of the men and many women wear clothes. The tatouage also is here very
+different for the vertical line on the forehead is not seen and a
+horizontal line of small elevations just above the level of the eyes is
+very common; there are however, various other devices on the cheeks and
+the lobes of the ears are sometimes pierced for the insertion of a ring
+of ivory nearly as large as a serviette ring. The natives are very
+polite, every single one giving a salute so that at the end of a long
+village one's arm aches with returning it. Chicken and eggs can be
+bought here for cloth at about the price one pays in an expensive shop
+in London. Some of the natives said nothing and were satisfied while
+others grumbled but did not take back their goods. One man sold nine
+eggs for about 2/- of which only three were fit to eat and demanded
+4/- for a chicken little larger than a pigeon.
+
+The natives here seem to have been spoilt by the whites who must have
+given them very high prices for food at first, and these have never been
+reduced. Naturally demand and supply affect the price considerably. A
+native refused to sell us a duck at Coquilhatville for 14/-, for ducks
+are rare. On the other hand in remote villages rarely visited by white
+men, the people will sometimes give two chickens for an empty wine
+bottle and would practically sell themselves for salt so fond are they
+of that substance. This they eat alone and relish immensely for the
+native salt is very unpleasant. It is made from water lilies and certain
+forms of grass which are burnt slowly under a fire, the resulting ash
+containing a large quantity of sodium chloride. It is however, mixed
+with sulphur, charcoal and other impurities and to remove these the ash
+is placed in water when the sodium chloride and other soluble salts
+enter into solution. This is then evaporated to dryness in the sun and
+forms native salt.
+
+Once clear of the line of villages which extend for two or three miles,
+the path enters dense forest and the walk becomes pleasant. Palms are
+abundant and the _parasol_. tree very common. Overhead are pigeons, a few
+ducks and, as usual, thousands of parrots. I shot a few either for the
+larder or for their skins all of which fell in the dense undergrowth.
+Without a retriever these were no doubt difficult to find but it was
+curious that the birds with beautiful feathers and indifferent flesh
+were always picked up while the ducks and pigeons usually could not be
+found. All the porters returned along this path the next day and perhaps
+were then more successful and enjoyed the game which would not be harmed
+by hanging for a day in a tree. The road is a good one being sometimes
+five or six feet wide and most of the marshes and streams are crossed by
+rude wooden bridges formed by trunks of trees laid parallel to each
+other.
+
+[Illustration: WARRIORS AT DJABIR.]
+
+Most of the way is up a gentle incline for we are now passing over the
+ridge which separates the watersheds of the Ubangi and the Congo. At
+intervals along the road are small clearings in some of which are
+capitas armed with cap-guns to protect the rubber caravans from
+thieves. About midday we reach Kaki-kaki, a clearing in the forest in
+which is a mud house for the use of white men passing through and here I
+call a halt for we have marched about twelve or thirteen miles.
+
+On again next morning at daybreak the path continuing through the
+forest, and as it is quite cold at this hour and the exercise is
+pleasant we march briskly only stopping to shoot occasionally. After
+leaving Kaki-kaki the streams flow south instead of north which shows
+that after fighting our way up rivers for four months we have now
+reached the highest point of our journey and are at length going down
+hill.
+
+It is indeed a great relief to think that instead of struggling up
+rapids, when next we take to canoes we shall be whirled rapidly down
+stream. There is, however, nothing like a mountain or even a
+considerable hill in this part of Uele. After an hour or two the forest
+ends and we cross a plain covered with grass only four to six feet high
+on which clumps of trees and bushes are dotted about. On every side are
+traces of elephant, antelope and wild cattle but the sun is now high on
+his brilliant course and only man is foolish enough to work in the day
+time in Central Africa. It is indeed very hot marching for there is no
+shade and it is necessary to change the gun for the umbrella. In another
+hour we reach the string of villages constituting the territory of the
+Sultan of Enguetra who like the Sultan of Djabir is not a particularly
+good chief. His people, however, receive the porters kindly and give
+them bananas. Then on again under a very fierce sun until the north bank
+of the Likati river is reached. Here we enter a canoe and are rapidly
+paddled down the stream which is only about twenty yards wide, until we
+reach a clearing in the forest in which the Post of Enguetra is being
+built by Lieutenant Gaspard. In a few weeks he has constructed a fine
+brick house of two storeys with a large verandah looking down a natural
+avenue to the river.
+
+At this time of the year--the early days of November--the Post is
+practically an island for the river flows on one side and on the other
+three water is standing in the forest to the depth of three or four
+feet. This is no doubt good for the rubber vines but bad for hunting.
+However, I determine to settle here for a week or two and hunt the
+forest and plains about. Next morning herefore I start at 5 a.m. in the
+dark and follow the guide who evidently feels the cold and steps out at
+a good pace. After passing through the plantation we strike into dense
+forest and the walking becomes very difficult. Roots of trees below,
+branches and vines above have to be dodged all the time and it is a
+relief to march along the bed of a stream even if it has two or three
+feet of water in it. It is impossible to see for more than a yard or two
+on each side through the dense undergrowth and the sun and sky are quite
+invisible although patches of lights show that the former is now well
+above the level of the tallest tree. Traces of elephant and antelope
+abound, the former being of small size without points worth having.
+After two hours we reach the plain and find the water nearly six feet
+deep. There is no place about to pitch a tent and it is extremely
+difficult marching in the forest in the night, but the only chance of an
+elephant is to be here an hour or two before daybreak. Indeed it is
+almost impossible to hunt until the water subsides and that means
+waiting for over a month. However there are plenty of small beasts and
+birds so the day was not altogether wasted.
+
+The Congo is undoubtedly the land of exaggerations. Everything here is
+bigger or smaller than any where else. If the elephants are the largest
+in the world the insects are the smallest and Enguetra is especially
+favoured by their attendance. Millions of little beasts fall on one all
+day long. Soup might here be called hexapoda bouillon and a glass of
+wine in a few minutes becomes a tincture of insects. Butterflies are
+especially numerous and are of groat beauty. They are so lazy or sleepy
+that one can nearly always pick them up with one's fingers. Ducks are
+not agile creatures on land but here they waddle slowly up to the
+butterflies and as often as not catch them in their beaks.
+
+The native is a curious mixture of simplicity and cunning He is very
+fond of strong alcohol but does not care much for wine. The mess boy
+here apparently stole some whisky and instead of filling the bottle up
+with water added red wine to the requisite amount. Of course the colour
+led to instant detection and of course he knew nothing about it, but he
+lurched about violently as he waited at dinner and it was obvious the
+new European drink was acting rather forcibly. It is very troublesome to
+have to lock up every bottle when travelling, yet it is absolutely
+necessary. There is, however, I hear a patent lock which can be fixed
+over the cork and is easily fastened to the bottle. This is worth
+remembering.
+
+One day Chikaia slated that the Sultan of Enguetra intended to attack
+the Post that night and if he had done so it might have fared badly
+with us for we were only two white men with perhaps fifteen or twenty
+soldiers. However, a heavy tornado broke and perhaps the warriors
+refused to face the storm for nothing happened. The boys were very
+alarmed and did not hesitate to say so. As the relationship between the
+Sultan and the State was not very satisfactory the report might have
+been true, otherwise it might well have been idle gossip. War had then
+not been declared but the State soon after sent a force to occupy the
+district.
+
+Chikaia, who is a Christian, formed a violent attachment to a woman who
+worked in the plantation here and asked to be allowed to marry her,
+although at the time she appeared to be the wife of a soldier with whom
+she was living. Chikaia, however, said she was not legally married, so
+we investigated the case. The supposed husband swore they were married,
+the woman swore they were not. The man, however, in this case evidently
+lied for he said the ceremony took place at a certain Post and was
+conducted by a certain official. Now only Commissaires of Districts and
+Missionaries can legalise marriages and the official named was neither.
+After representing to Chikaia that the woman did not seem a very
+desirable wife, I gave my permission to his marriage, provided that the
+Catholic Missionaries, to which church he belonged, were willing to
+perform the ceremony for the woman was not a Christian. The woman was
+very pleased and thanked me in the native fashion by at once asking for
+a necklace of beads for a wedding present. The demand for _tips_. becomes
+sometimes quite humorous. A native girl fell down and cut herself and
+one of the officials dressed the wound until it healed. The parents
+then came and asked for a tip and when the astonished individual
+required to know the reason said that the girl had been every day to
+have her wound attended to and she ought to be paid for it.
+
+One day as I was sitting after lunch half asleep, a green and white
+serpent glided through the open door into my room. It happened that my
+guns were leaning against the opposite wall and I did not fancy jumping
+over the beast, so simply shouted. It then withdrew on to the verandah
+and I followed as quickly as possible with a gun. In the meantime
+Chikaia came running up and gave it several blows on the back with a
+heavy piece of wood. The sentry then appeared and before I could stop
+him cut off its head. The skin was thus spoilt which was a great pity as
+it measured more than ten feet in length.
+
+As it was not easy to procure paddlers at Enguetra I decided to send on
+one of the boys Mavunga with some of the heavy baggage on November 17th
+and to follow him the next day. He was very nervous at the idea of
+travelling alone and wished to borrow a revolver, but this of course I
+refused. It is curious that these coast boys fear the natives of the
+interior so much and still more curious that the presence of a single
+white man at once restores confidence. It is indeed becoming more
+apparent every day that the natives have a very genuine respect and
+admiration for the Europeans and credit them with powers which neither
+they nor any other people possess.
+
+I leave Enguetra on the 18th in a most comfortable canoe with an awning
+so high that it is possible to stand upright, a great luxury in canoe
+travelling. The Likati flows swiftly through dense forests and we glide
+down the rapids very quickly and comfortably. No villages exist along
+the banks and nothing is visible except the forest until we reach
+Kati-kati a clearing in which a mud hut has been erected for the
+convenience of travellers. I went for a stroll in the forest but after
+half an hour was stopped by an unpleasant palpitation of the heart.
+Although the distressing symptom passed away quickly it was obvious it
+might occur again and then I realised for the first time that I was very
+anaemic and that hard exertion would be impossible for some time. This
+was the more annoying for the country around was particularly rich in
+game. We leave at sunrise which is, however, concealed by a thick water
+mist and speed along until we reach Dzamba or Ekwanga-tana close to the
+point where the Likati and Rubi rivers join to form the Itimbiri. Dzamba
+is a transit port where cargoes are transhipped from canoes into a small
+steamer the _Milz_ which plies between it and Buta the capital of Uele.
+As the _Milz_ departed the next day I decided to travel in her and thus
+altered my original plan of descending direct to the Congo. The Rubi is
+about three times as wide as the Likati and also flows through dense
+forest which is only broken here and there by Wood Posts. Although the
+water is high and the current strong the _Milz_ which is a twin-screw
+steamer, travels well and early on the third day we arrive at Buta. The
+Post is being moved and some brick houses have already been built, one
+of which is placed at my disposal. After settling in it I call upon
+Baron de Rennette, the Commissaire of Uele which is a very important
+District for through it runs the path to the Nile and it has frontiers
+both to French and English territories. The Lado Enclave, however, is
+governed separately by a special official.
+
+One now realises fully the extreme difficulty and expense of transport
+across Africa. Take for example a bale of cloth shipped at Brussels and
+addressed to Bomokandi. It is very possible that this will be
+transhipped at Banana into a lighter which will be towed to Matadi;
+secondly it will travel by train to Leopoldville; thirdly by steamer to
+Bumba beyond which point the larger vessels do not run; fourthly by
+small steamer to Ibembo; fifthly by canoe to Dzamba during which journey
+it has to be carried by hand past some rapids; sixthly by the _Milz_ to
+Buta and seventhly by hand to Bomokandi. Every basket of rubber and
+point of ivory exported and every box of food or bale of cloth imported
+is indeed constantly being transhipped and then conveyed by various
+methods a few hundred miles on its journey. The example given is by no
+means an extreme one, and many others could be traced in almost any
+direction. The reason is simple. Although the whole of Central Africa is
+traversed by rivers which eventually flow into the Congo, both the main
+river and its tributaries are in places impossible to navigate owing to
+the rapids. Great efforts are, however, being made to overcome these
+obstructions. Wherever possible railways are being constructed and roads
+made to avoid them the latest great work initiated being the automobile
+road through Uele. It is indeed impossible now to carry by hand the
+great amount of merchandise passing up and down the country, even if the
+natives were willing to undertake the task. This is, however, the very
+work they dislike most and during my visit an immense quantity of
+stores was lying at Buta and could not be forwarded owing to lack of
+porters. The automobile road will change all this, for trains of waggons
+carrying the merchandise will then be quickly and easily towed by road
+engines. Passengers will also be conveyed in a similar manner and it is
+reasonable to prophesy that in five or ten years time it will be
+possible to cross Africa from the Nile to Banana without travelling a
+single mile in canoes or on foot.
+
+At present the difficulty of transport chiefly affects the comfort of
+the officials for their stores of food may be delayed for some weeks and
+although it is possible to live on kwanga, goats and chickens, it is not
+a suitable diet for Europeans. Less difficulty is experienced with the
+exportation, for the rubber and ivory are always travelling down the
+hill towards the mouth of the river. Baron de Rennette fully realises
+how extremely important it is to have good food in this exhausting
+climate and took his native cook to Europe to receive some lessons in
+the culinary art. He has been rewarded for his trouble and now lives
+almost as well as he could at home. Good food, indeed, is almost as
+necessary in Africa as pure water. After a hard day's work in this
+climate it is impossible either to relish or to digest goat's flesh or
+tough chicken and the result is weakness followed by fever, anaemia or
+dysentry. When travelling it is still more difficult to obtain properly
+cooked food, and it was thus especially pleasant to find oneself dining
+off a clean white cloth with clean silver, hot plates and food cooked
+and served in a manner which would have been a credit to a London club.
+
+There is a good path to Bima and Bomokandi and I was thinking of taking
+this ten day's walk when an attack of fever caused me to change my plans
+again. While still at Buta Mgr. Derikx arrived. He was on a tour of his
+diocese and expected to be travelling for a year. I was very pleased to
+see him and was bound to confess that all he had told me of the Congo on
+the voyage out was strictly accurate. Having recovered from the fever
+and on the recommendation of Baron de Bennette, commenced a course of
+arseniate of soda, I left Buta on November 28th in the _Milz_. The small
+steamer rapidly descended the river for the water was now falling
+rapidly. Many crocodiles had ascended this small river to lay their eggs
+and were lying on sandbanks but we travelled so quickly that it was
+impossible to shoot them. Near Buta is one of the villages constructed
+for and by old soldiers and, like the rest of these institutions, this
+one is very well arranged and kept forming a striking contrast to the
+ordinary native village. It is indeed extraordinary how the savage can
+be changed into a civilised being by a few years of military discipline.
+
+I reach Dzamba again on the 29th and continue the journey in canoe on
+the next day. The current is running swiftly down the Itimbiri and after
+an hour we arrive at a rapid and march through the forest while the
+canoe descends without passengers. The river winds here very much so
+that although the current is very strong it is more than an hour before
+the canoe arrives at the village, which we reached walking, in about
+twenty-minutes. The journey up is very slow and tedious for the baggage
+has to be carried by hand along this short cut through the forest. It
+is therefore proposed to build a light railway to relieve the native of
+this task.
+
+I reach Ibembo on the 30th and am met by Lieutenant Francois, the Chef
+du Poste. It is a large station with a big mess for many travellers are
+continually passing through. On this date three hundred and fifty
+soldiers with their officers were marching through with the object of
+occupying Enguetra and its district until the Sultan becomes a little
+more reasonable. It is very difficult for the troops to avoid ambuscades
+in the forest. They march in a hollow square formation with the women,
+who carry much of the baggage, in the centre. Each soldier carries a
+knife and literally cuts his way through the undergrowth. If the head,
+flanks or rear of the square is attacked the men close up and meet the
+enemy with a steady fire for they always march with the rifle loaded.
+Progress is naturally very slow and the enemy difficult to catch, while
+the chance of being hit by a poisoned arrow or a lance hurled from
+behind a tree is always present. The soldier however, is very plucky and
+well earns his twenty-one cents each day, and the one franc twenty-five
+cents a month which is reserved for him.
+
+[Illustration: THE ITIMBIRI RIVER.]
+
+Next day I visit the Catholic Mission of Ibembo and am received by
+Father Benin who is in charge in the absence of Mgr. Derikx. The Mission
+is situated on a plateau about 200 feet high on the opposite bank to the
+Post, but a little lower down the stream and the whole place is
+admirably arranged, the view across the river being especially
+beautiful. Three hundred natives, mostly children, are engaged in the
+plantations and gardens all being dressed in a pretty uniform and
+appearing healthy and happy. There is indeed, very little sickness
+here, for the buildings and grounds are as scrupulously clean as those
+of a State Post. In a well-fitted carpenter's shop the entire furniture
+for the chapel and houses has been made from the wood of old canoes
+which is hard and well-seasoned. The boys also work in ivory, turning
+serviette rings with great accuracy and skill. Four or five brethren and
+five sisters form the staff of the Mission and one of the latter
+superintends the cooking with most happy results.
+
+Next day I walk through the native villages near Ibembo where most of
+the men fish and the women make pots of clay. There are a great number
+of children about and very little sickness. Sunday as usual was market
+day and the people from the neighbourhood brought in kwanga, fish, eggs,
+chicken and three antelopes. Food is sold for mitakos three of which
+will purchase enough kwanga to feed a man and woman for a day. In the
+afternoon a Chief arrives with the not unusual story that a troup of
+elephants have entered and destroyed his plantation of manioc. We
+arrange therefore to start at 4 a.m. next morning on the chance that
+they will repeat their visit, but a heavy tornado in the night renders
+hunting impossible. After spending a pleasant week at Ibembo, I prepare
+to descend the river to Bumba and then to ascend the Congo to Stanley
+Falls.
+
+[Illustration: BASOKO FROM THE RIVER.].
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+Ibembo to Stanley Falls.
+
+
+The _Delivrance_ a steamer built on the same lines as the _Florida_
+arrives at Ibembo on December 5th with a large cargo of cloth, clothes,
+beads, salt and other articles for barter, and also cases of food for
+the Europeans. This is almost her last voyage up the Itimbiri this
+season, for soon the waters will have fallen so low that the river will
+be navigable only by canoes. No time is wasted in the Congo State. As
+soon as the cargo was discharged, the empty holds were filled with
+baskets of rubber and ivory and in less than twenty four hours after her
+arrival, the steamer was ready to depart.
+
+Having arranged to travel by this boat, my baggage was soon on board,
+and we left Ibembo at midday on the 6th of December. At first the river
+passes between the cliff fronting the plateau, on which the Mission
+stands and low lying forest on the opposite bank. The cliff is red, and
+is evidently full of iron. In a short time however, both banks become
+flat and are covered with forest broken at intervals by villages which
+are well arranged, clean and tidy. Some of them are wood posts, and one
+is occupied by old soldiers, who have built themselves very good houses.
+These veterans have no pension, but are given materials to form
+plantations, and also supply the steamers with wood at the usual rate.
+They rarely, if ever, return to their native villages, which they left
+seven or ten years before as naked savages, for they are now smart
+civilised men and imitate the appearance and manners of the Europeans as
+closely as possible.
+
+About 6 p.m. we reach the Post of Mandungu, situated on the right bank
+of the Itimbiri. It is very well built and scrupulously tidy. Behind is
+a high wooden stockade, and in front, along the river bank is a small
+wall broken by a kind of arbour, in which is a brass gun with the
+interesting inscription G.R. III 1799.
+
+On again at daybreak down the swiftly running stream. The Itimbiri
+indeed, like its principal feeders, the Likati and Rubi, is rapidly
+falling, for the dry season has now commenced in earnest, and although
+thunder-storms are frequent, they are not accompanied by rain. We stop
+at Moenge, a small post on the left bank of the river, for the mail, and
+then on again until the Congo is reached an hour before sunset. The
+great river is still very full of water, which shows no signs at
+present of falling. This is, only to be expected, for all the
+tributaries are now emptying themselves into the main stream, which is
+thus kept high for some weeks after they have commenced to fall. We turn
+down the Congo and after passing some villages and a post of the S.A.B.
+Trading Company, reach Bumba at sunset.
+
+This is an important shipping port, for the large vessels stop here
+owing to the difficulty of navigating the Congo higher up. All the cargo
+for Stanley Falls and the Upper Congo, as well as that for Uele, has
+therefore to be transhipped here. The place is designed in a series of
+squares, one side of each being formed by the river while the spaces
+thus left are filled with well kept gardens, the whole being very
+effective. Mr. Simon, the commandant of the Station kindly lends me a
+house and also arranges to allow the _Delivrance_ to take me up to
+Stanley Falls as soon as her cargo has been discharged. On each side of
+the Post are villages extending along the river bank. The men here wear
+a loin cloth, but the women only bangles, and the tatouage is varied and
+extensive.
+
+Next day the _Delivrance_ was charged with sheets of corrugated iron for
+building purposes and it was very interesting to watch the natives
+carrying these to the ship. Like some civilised people, the natives are
+so lazy that they often give themselves a great deal of work in the
+effort to avoid it. The plates were of various sizes and shapes and
+consequently of various weights. Sauntering slowly up to the stack on
+the beach, one of the porters would examine it carefully and search for
+as small a load as possible. Then he would either lift the upper ten or
+twelve plates or try to pull the one he had chosen out from the stack.
+Having accomplished his object thus with great exertion, he would put
+the plate on his head and carry it leisurely the few yards to the boat.
+Of course the larger ones had to be moved some time, and in reality at
+the end of the day the lazy fellows had thus done more work than was
+necessary. Compared with Hindu or Chinese coolies, the Central Africans
+indeed both in the plantations and at the dock side, accomplish rather
+less than half the amount of work in the same time. The paddlers, on the
+other hand, cannot be called lazy, and when propelling canoes against
+strong currents or up rapids, exert themselves to the utmost.
+
+We leave Bumba on December 9th in the _Delivrance_ and turn up stream.
+After passing the mouth of the Itimbiri the banks are unoccupied for
+many miles, dense unbroken forest lining each shore. Here and there is a
+wood post and we pass also two considerable areas which had evidently
+been cleared some time ago and occupied by villages. The people,
+however, were very troublesome in these parts and have since migrated
+into the interior leaving the ancient sites to elephants and other
+beasts. It is very much more comfortable on the _Delivrance_ than on the
+larger steamers, for, being the only passenger, I have plenty of room in
+the cabin below and as usual in these small craft, we have all our meals
+on the bridge.
+
+[Illustration: LOADING A BARGE.]
+
+On the 11th we arrive at Barumbu, a small Post with a large brick house
+for the Commissaire when he visits the place. Here most of the natives
+were dancing and looked very ridiculous. They did not move over the
+ground and seemed to be doing a kind of physical drill. First one leg
+was kicked forwards and backwards while the other did a heavy stiff
+looking hop. Then perhaps the arms were thrown up and down and the whole
+body advanced from the hips, and finally the head was jerked to and fro.
+These movements were repeated time after time, evidently in a regular
+set order, for once started, several people performed exactly the same
+in perfect time whether they could see each other or were back to back.
+The whole affair looked stiff and ungracious, but was keenly enjoyed by
+the natives.
+
+
+[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF BASOKO.]
+
+
+An hour later we arrived at Basoko, the capital of the Aruwimi District.
+It is different from other Posts, for it has a wall running along the
+river front with a square tower in the centre, giving the appearance of
+fortification. There are indeed a few guns here, but not many troops.
+After paying a short visit to the Commissaire General of Aruwimi,
+Captain Pimpurnieaux, we continue our journey.
+
+Next morning was pay day, all the ordinary seamen receiving 21 mitakos
+a week, but the capitas and wheelmen were given more. These latter are
+usually a very responsible set of men, for after a few journeys they
+remember every island and land-mark on the river and often steer all day
+without a word of command from the captain. About midday we met the
+_Ville de Paris_ which differs from the other steamers in having her
+wheels at the side instead of at the stern. This arrangement has not
+however, proved a success, for this boat is neither so fast nor so
+easily steered as the others.
+
+I am now troubled with a new complaint, synovitis of the knee joint with
+a good deal of effusion, which makes it very difficult to walk. It is
+curious why this malady should have appeared, for I had not knocked or
+otherwise injured the joint and had indeed been sitting quietly on
+steamers all day for the previous week.
+
+On the afternoon of the 12th we reach Isangi, a Post at the junction of
+the Lomami and the Congo. This river drains the territory occupied by
+the Company of the same name and we turn up it to visit Hambi, the chief
+town. There are a few large villages on the banks where the natives
+exhibit a curious method of hair dressing. It is allowed to grow long,
+which is very unusual in the Congo, and is then turned up and matted
+together on the top of the head with grease and the red powder of the
+cam-wood. The effect is, that each appears to be wearing a red and black
+cloth cap.
+
+We reach Hambi, which is a large Station well built and very tidy, the
+next day. The Company leases a very extensive territory along the river
+banks and does a large trade in rubber and ivory, the Brazilian variety
+of the former growing here very well. The natives are quite satisfied,
+work well and give very little trouble, although it is necessary to
+punish them sometimes, and as usual, the prisoners on the chain are
+given work to do outside the prison. We stay here one day and then
+descend the Lomani, and turn up the Congo. The banks of the river now
+have a new appearance, for they are higher and no longer densely wooded
+and at short intervals are villages thickly populated and containing a
+high percentage of children. Most of the men fish or build canoes, and
+all the people seem to be constantly trading with each other, selling
+food or curiosities for mitakos or cloth.
+
+We stop for the night at Yonanghe, a Post which has been built by a true
+native of the Congo, who at one time was the boy of Inspecteur d'Etat,
+Malfeyt. He has travelled to Europe, speaks French and English and makes
+an excellent Chef du Poste, which rank he enjoys officially, with all
+its rights and privileges. Everyone agrees he is thoroughly responsible
+and a very good friend, but if a captain of a steamer offends him, he
+will not sell him a chicken or even an egg for any sum.
+
+On the 15th we reach Yakussu, where is a Mission Station of the English
+Baptists. As I cannot go ashore, the missionary, Mr. Stapleton, comes on
+board and we have an interesting chat. He has known the Bangala District
+for many years and has seen the riverside population diminish very much
+during the last fifteen years. This he ascribes partly to the Sleeping
+Sickness and partly to emigration to the State Posts. At first it was
+very difficult for the people to raise enough food for themselves and
+for the soldiers in the Posts, and to avoid the hard work, many
+accepted service under the State. Here however, near Stanley Falls,
+there is plenty of food and the people have no difficulty in providing
+for their own wants and in supplying the State Posts as well. He thinks
+that after the cruelty of the Arabs, the rule of the white man appears
+as heaven to the native. All are therefore contented and happy, and as
+there is very little Sleeping Sickness, the population is increasing.
+The Mission boys are taught to be carpenters, masons and brick makers,
+for food is so plentiful that there is no need to establish plantations.
+The chief grievance of Mr. Stapleton is, that the Government will not
+permit the missionaries to settle where they wish and will not grant
+them land. Several other missionaries have also complained of this, but
+some districts are certainly not civilised at present, and it would be
+dangerous for any white man to live in them without a military guard. It
+thus happens that while there are a great number of Mission Stations
+along the Congo in the part where the population has diminished greatly,
+there is not a single Mission on the State side of the Ubangi river
+where the people are very numerous.
+
+We arrived at Stanleyville in the afternoon. The town is situated on the
+north bank of the river and consists of streets of large well built
+houses with much space in between which is laid out in gardens. On the
+opposite bank are the works of the railway to Ponthierville, a number of
+corrugated iron buildings and a large native village. In front, a
+hundred yards up the river, the lowest of the Stanley Falls can be
+seen, the white foam glistening in the sunlight as the water rushes
+over the rocks. The Commissaire of the District--the Province
+Orientale--Lieutenant De Neullemeister, kindly lends me a house and acts
+as my host. Fish is very plentiful here, but a sudden and terrible
+disease has suddenly carried off most of the goats and chickens and we
+are therefore, rather short of fresh meat for a few days.
+
+Many of the natives have the Arab type of features and their village is
+quite Arabian in appearance. They are all very civilised and work well,
+so that much rubber is collected, although the population about Lake
+Tanganika is not very dense. The women here are clothed and do not work
+in the plantations at all.
+
+Next day Lieutenant De Neullemeister and I, cross the river and are met
+by Mr. Adams, the Director of the Railway Company. We enter a truck and
+proceed along the new line which plunges into dense forest immediately,
+turning and twisting in many directions in order to avoid the numerous
+soft places and ravines and although there are a few steep gradients,
+most of the way the line runs on fairly level ground. The soil is a kind
+of ferruginous clay in some places and sandy in others and all the
+bridges are constructed of wood. Mr. Adams says the natives are good
+workers and that they have had no trouble with them and very little
+sickness. The gauge of the line is considerably wider than that of the
+Matadi-Leopoldville railway and at present about thirty kilometres have
+been finished the whole passing through thick forest with clearings here
+and there for the huts of the workmen. The difficulties of construction
+are very great, but these are being surmounted and the cost of transport
+of material is enormous, for every steel rail six of which weigh a ton
+has to be carried from Europe to Matadi by ship, then by the railway to
+Leopoldville, and then up the river for nearly a thousand miles. The
+Company has its own private steamer, the _Kintamo_, a stern wheeler of
+500 tons which is the largest vessel on the Congo, but like the rest was
+carried out in sections and put together and launched at Leopoldville.
+The construction of this railway will thus be costly, and it is doubtful
+if the amount of produce carried will be sufficient for some years to
+pay a dividend. The advantages of it will however, be very great, for at
+present the falls render the river useless for navigation, and
+everything has to be carried round by hand. Everywhere indeed, there is
+evidence that the State not only spends enormous sums in opening up the
+country, but welcomes the formation of private companies who will help
+them in their gigantic undertaking. It is difficult to realise that
+probably no man, white or black, has ever set foot in the forest a few
+hundred yards away, and yet we are travelling smoothly along a steel
+railroad through a tractless desert of trees propelled by a modern steam
+locomotive. The line does not pass near a single native village, for
+this part is not thickly populated and the only creatures whose paths
+are interrupted, are the elephants, buffaloes and wild pigs. On our
+return we visit the house of Mr. Adams, a solid structure of brick and
+European cement, and the Mess of the thirty or forty whites employed on
+the line who live here very well for mutton as well as goat can be
+purchased from the natives. The price of everything which has to be
+carried from Europe is very high at Stanleyville for the cost of
+transport is very great. In the afternoon, we make a tour of the town,
+and as it is impossible to walk, I am conveyed in a kind of bathchair
+resting on one wheel. One boy goes in front and one behind and when the
+road is very bad or an obstacle is met, they lift the machine bodily
+over it. It is however, a bumpy ride, for the roads are very rough and
+the chair has no springs. We pass the Mess, capable of dining sixty men
+and visit the prison. This is a brick building arranged as a quadrangle
+with an exercising yard in the centre. The cells are lofty and airy and
+only one prisoner occupies each, but many sleep in one dormitory.
+Everywhere great cleanliness is observed, so that one is not altogether
+surprised to learn that the mortality due to Sleeping Sickness is very
+small among the prisoners. Some of them are making mats and baskets in
+the yard, but most are working on the chain outside. In a separate
+building, the women, who also wear light chains, are cooking dinner for
+the prison. Indeed, on the whole the lot of a prisoner in the Congo is
+better than he would be likely to experience in a native village, with
+the exception that he is compelled to work. Most of the people are
+sentenced for theft or violence, but one woman was imprisoned for
+throwing a solution of pepper into the face of her husband and nearly
+blinding him. There is a separate room set apart for white prisoners,
+but it has not yet been used and is at present much more satisfactorily
+occupied by the instruments of the band of the Force Publique.
+
+Near the Mess we pass the house of Tippo-Tip, a small mud structure with
+a verandah and a roof of grass. It is not used at all now, but is
+allowed to remain as an historical monument. Stanley was compelled to
+negotiate with Tippo in order to avoid a conflict at the time when the
+State was not sufficiently armed to undertake such a task but since
+then, Arab rule has been entirely driven from Central Africa. Almost
+opposite the Falls, a fort is being constructed with a ditch all round.
+When finished, it will be capable of holding the whole garrison and
+supplies for eighteen months. It is of course, only constructed as a
+defence against native attacks and is not built strong enough to resist
+big gun fire.
+
+The quarters of the Force Publique here are very comfortable. Each man
+has a room to himself about seven feet square constructed of brick and
+the sergeants have a small house, each containing two rooms and a
+verandah. I looked into one or two and they were well arranged. Bed and
+mosquito curtain, table and chair with a few pictures and ornaments,
+showed what an advance the native had made in civilisation since he
+slept in a hut on the mud floor.
+
+Finally we visited the motive power which enables all this to be done,
+the rubber stores. Here people were busy sorting and packing the
+precious material into baskets ready to be carried to the Barge which
+was waiting to sail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Stanley Falls to London.
+
+
+The prison gang arrives at 8 a.m. on the morning of December 18th and at
+once my baggage is carried down to the river and placed on board the
+Barge. It is a novel sight. A long line of prisoners chained together,
+slowly marching down the road with bales, boxes, chairs, tables and
+portmanteaus on their heads. No method could be simpler or more secure
+for transporting baggage. The Barge--as the name implies--has no means
+of propulsion and depends for her locomotive power upon a powerful steam
+tug which is attached alongside. The whole space in the ship is thus
+devoted to cargo and only passengers who are sick are carried, the
+accommodation being limited, but there is a fine deck on which to sit or
+walk about. The Barge is of about 400 tons burden and is therefore as
+large as the mail passenger boats, and the great advantage of travelling
+in it is, that since there is absolutely no vibration or motion to be
+felt, it is very comfortable for writing.
+
+As the navigation of the river is difficult near Stanleyville, a pilot
+takes all the boats down the first day's journey and returns in the next
+vessel ascending. On the way we called at the Catholic Mission for one
+of the priests who wished to travel to La Romee and I was astonished to
+find he was quite ignorant of the agitation against the Congo, which was
+taking place in Europe, and wondered, as many of us do, what was the
+cause of it, for he knew nothing of atrocities or cruelties to natives.
+
+Afterwards we stopped at Yakussu for wood and then at La Romee where
+there is an extensive farm. Here we take on board some fresh vegetables
+and cow's milk which however, is not fit to drink an hour afterwards.
+The climate in the Congo is very bad for all kinds of food. Antelope,
+killed in the early morning, is often rotten by the evening, and thus
+the difficulty of obtaining fresh food is greatly increased. The
+rapidity with which flesh decomposes is, perhaps, the reason why the
+natives prefer it in that condition, for as it is so difficult to obtain
+meat fresh, they may have acquired the taste for it rotten, just as some
+civilised people train their palates to prefer game high. It is however,
+very disgusting to see them eating. One day a carcase of a wild pig in a
+highly decomposed condition was picked up by one of the paddlers on the
+Ubangi. This was cut up and shared among the canoes and part of it fell
+to my crew. Next day a most unpleasant smell accompanied us all the
+forenoon and no one could detect the cause, in fact, none of the natives
+noticed it. At lunch time however, the polemen produced a basket full of
+rotten flesh which they had stored in the front part of the canoe and
+thus given me the full benefit of it. As they commenced eating it raw,
+it was rather too much and I promptly ordered them to the other end of
+the boat where I could neither see nor smell them.
+
+[Illustration: THE FORCE PUBLIQUE AT STANLEYVILLE.]
+
+After travelling rapidly all day down stream, we tie up at sunset at
+Yonanghe and ship some rubber. We start again at daybreak, but as the
+wood in this part is both plentiful and good, the captain stops
+frequently at the posts and takes a large amount on board. This is a
+wise precaution, for lower down the wood is not so good and there is
+less of it, while there are more steamers to be supplied. At most of the
+villages the natives come to the beach with goods for sale, but the
+price of curios is too great here to tempt me.
+
+On the 20th we reach Basoko after running through a terrific tornado
+with so much rain that for a time it was impossible to see the banks. It
+is supposed to be the dry season here, so this storm is presumably an
+exception. Every morning there is a fog on the river more or less dense,
+which lasts for an hour or two after sunrise. During this period, it is
+often necessary to steam dead slow, for it is impossible to see a boat's
+length ahead.
+
+A pathetic incident happened one day. We were transporting eight
+prisoners to Boma and when we stopped these carried wood on to the
+steamer. One of them was the son of the Chief of a large village at
+which we stopped, who thus had the mortification of seeing his heir
+working "on the chain." He begged the captain to liberate him, who of
+course had not the power to do so even if he had wished, for the man had
+been sentenced for a serious theft and was now on his way to a convict
+settlement. The Chief therefore, told his son he was to give no trouble
+to the authorities and tried to comfort him by saying he would see the
+railway and Boma and the great ships which went to Europe. These
+prisoners gave no trouble at all. They were fed on the same food as the
+crew and did a certain amount of work, the only sign that they were
+criminals, being the chain which bound them together.
+
+On the 21st we reached Bumba and shipped a good deal of coffee. Here it
+was necessary to give the _chicotte_ to one of the crew for continually
+shirking work. He was given twenty five lashes, but it did not seem to
+affect him physically or morally, for immediately afterwards he smiled,
+rubbed himself and then slowly walked ashore to carry bags of coffee and
+while his fellows were hastening to finish their task, he was
+deliberately loitering about. Next time he will be dismissed and then he
+will find it difficult to find employment.
+
+On the following day we stopped at Dobo, one of the Posts of the Mongala
+Company, which has been taken over by the State. The Company found it
+was very difficult to make the people work and some serious charges of
+cruelty were proved against the officials. The Bangala tribe are
+however, very savage and only a short time ago a trader was killed and
+his body cut up ready for eating when some troops arrived and rescued
+it. The Government therefore, sent a punitive expedition into the
+country.
+
+There are very few villages on the river, and no signs that there have
+ever been any, for the forest grows to the water's edge in an
+uninterrupted line. At sunset we arrived at Lisala, which is a large
+military training camp, well constructed and managed. In it about a
+thousand savages are being converted into clean, smart-looking
+soldiers.
+
+Next day we passed the _Kintamo_., which was forcing its way up against
+the stream with a cargo of rails directed to Stanleyville. On the 24th
+we stopped at Mobeka, which is situated at the point where the Mongala
+river runs into the Congo and was the chief post of the Mongala Company.
+It is surrounded by a brick wall, except towards the river, and access
+to the Post from the native village is through stout wooden gates. At
+one place is a kind of watch tower built on the wall and the whole gives
+the appearance that the occupants knew they were living in the midst of
+cannibals, who would not hesitate to attack them if they were not well
+prepared to resist. It is to be hoped that the present expedition will
+be successful in converting a few from their barbarous condition, but
+great difficulties have to be overcome, for the fighting must be in the
+forest, as the natives never meet troops in the open if they can help
+it. In the evening we reached Nouvelle Anvers, a large and populous
+town. The houses are arranged along the river bank, surrounded by
+gardens, and the quarters of the troops leave nothing to be desired.
+
+Christinas Day has nothing resembling Christmas about it. A tropical sun
+burns overhead, warm sandy water glares below. In the morning we pass
+Mosembe, a Mission Station, and in the afternoon, Lulongo. There used to
+be a large village and coffee plantation here, but it was not a success
+and has been abandoned. The Mission however, still remains as also a
+Wood Post where we stop for the night and try to believe that duck is
+turkey and mutton, roastbeef. We have now traversed the whole of the
+river which runs past the Bangala District. It is undoubtedly very
+sparsely populated, but on the other hand, there are no remains of
+villages or clearings in the forest which would indicate it has ever
+been otherwise.
+
+Next day we reach Coquilhatville early and after taking some rubber and
+gum copal on board leave in the afternoon. From this point the river is
+familiar and at each place are old friends. At Irebu, Commandant Jeniaux
+comes on board and we have a chat about the condition of the agitation
+in Europe. Since we last met I have travelled some thousands of miles
+and have formed an opinion both of the system of Government and of those
+who administer it. There is no doubt whatever in my mind, that the
+native is not habitually ill-treated and that he is very well paid for
+his work. It is impossible to do more than guess at the object of the
+outcry, but it is certain that no agitation based on such a little
+foundation has ever been attended by such a near approach to success.
+
+Next day we stop at Lukoteia and take on board logs of wood and timber
+already worked into beams and posts for building. A little lower down is
+the old coffee plantation and close to it, tobacco is being grown. The
+river here is very wide and full of islands. To one of these we tie up
+and are at once attacked by millions of mosquitoes, who will not allow
+us to eat our dinner in peace. Fortunately I find an old pair of kid
+gloves and with my head covered with a silk handkerchief and my legs in
+high hunting boots, prepare for the onslaught. The mosquito here bites
+through duck trousers and socks with great ease, but his trunk cannot
+reach through the thickness of a sleeve of a coat and a flannel shirt,
+so with suitable clothes, one can gain a little peace, except for the
+constant humming round one's ears. A cigar or pipe is no protection at
+all, but the insects will not face the smoke of a wood fire. Since
+people cannot either, however, that is not much use. As it was, the few
+bites swelled up badly and completely upset the theory held by many,
+that after a few months in the Congo, the mosquito bite has no effect.
+It is some gratification--but not much--to think they only gained an
+extract of goat and chicken, instead of a solution of good juicy fresh
+meat.
+
+On the 29th we passed Yumbi and Bolobo. At the latter place great
+numbers of natives came to the beach to trade with our crew and black
+passengers who bought dried fish and kwanga. In the evening we reach
+Sandy Beach, opposite which, is _Lonely_. island so called because it is
+the last island on the river before it narrows to pass through what is
+known as the canal. Here the banks are flanked with hills which are a
+welcome sight after the dead level of the forest higher up.
+
+Next day we arrive at Kwamouth and after taking some cargo from the
+Kasai on board move on to a large Wood Post. It is not a very
+interesting or lively occupation watching people cut wood in the forest
+and stack it on the beach, and these Posts are sometimes used as places
+of punishment for refractory Europeans, whom it is thought desirable to
+isolate for a time. The strict paternal system is carried out throughout
+the State and methods of punishment are adopted which are rarely if ever
+found elsewhere. For minor offences the Europeans are fined by stopping
+their pay for a certain number of days and sometimes a man is revocated,
+which means he is sent home without being paid for the six months or
+year previously. In this way men who drink hard when they have the
+opportunity, who are habitually insubordinate, or who are undesirable,
+are weeded out rapidly. Penal offences are of course tried in the Courts
+and punished with imprisonment. It is indeed curious after travelling in
+America and our colonies, to find, sturdy, rough, independent characters
+behaving with extraordinary meekness and docility. Drunken brawls and
+promiscuous revolver shooting are unknown in the Congo, for the simple
+reason, that it is impossible up country to procure drink. There are no
+drink shanties or gambling dens and indeed no amusements of any kind.
+Men work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., have their dinner and go to bed. Very
+little news penetrates from the outside world and conversation is
+therefore, limited to the immediate affairs of the individuals
+concerned. Small matters thus appear to be far more important than they
+really are and the story of any little adventure soon becomes magnified
+out of all recognition. This, perhaps, accounts also for some of the
+absurd stories of atrocities.
+
+On the last day of the year we reach Leopoldville and are comfortably
+installed in the Inspector's house. A kind of fete is held in the
+evening and a procession passes with lanterns on poles, but there is
+very little singing or noise of any kind and the whole affair is rather
+ghostly.
+
+On January 2nd we leave Leopoldville by train and remembering the amount
+of the fare coming up, I was careful to reduce my baggage to the
+minimum. Of course the food cases were all empty, the wine drunk, the
+salt paid away to natives and the petroleum burnt; still for myself,
+three boys and excess baggage, the fare for the two hundred miles was
+over L25. Just before we left Leopoldville, who should enter the
+carriage but Mr. Joseph Clarke, of Ikoko, and another Mr. Clark, who is
+also a Missionary. I was very pleased to see them and hear the news from
+their side of the question. They were travelling to Maladi to attend a
+meeting of missionaries, but to-day only proceeded as far as Kinshassa.
+Mr. Clarke told me he had sent to the Commission of Enquiry some new
+photographs of the boy without a hand whom he had shown to me at Ikoko
+and was convinced that the world would be startled when the report
+appeared. All the meetings of the Commission are held in public and
+therefore the evidence submitted at them is already known. The
+interpretation of this apparently depends upon the already formed
+opinion of the individual, for while the State officials say that very
+little, if anything, has been proved against the Government, the
+Missionaries are quite satisfied that the A.B.I.R. Company will be
+severely condemned. Of course no report can possibly satisfy any of the
+controversialists for their feelings are too strong to permit them to be
+content with cold facts judicially stated.
+
+After an uneventful and uncomfortable journey through the beautiful part
+described before, we arrive at Sono Congo about 5 p.m. and take a room
+in the Magazins-Generaux, a wooden building raised above the level of
+the ground and fairly clean. It is beautifully fresh and cool up here,
+and for the first time for half a year, it is possible to take a bath in
+clear white water.
+
+On again at 6.30 a.m. at which hour it was quite cold, but as the sun
+rose and we descended, it became very hot indeed, for we were then well
+south of the Equator and it was summer in the Lower Congo. The scenery
+through the Palabala mountains improved, if possible, on a second
+acquaintance and the railway as a feat of engineering, appeared still
+more marvellous. After a dusty, hot journey, we arrived at Matadi at 5
+p.m. and found Mr. de Rache, the Commissaire of the District, on the
+platform. He had kindly taken a room at one of the hotels, but as it
+necessitated climbing up the hill and I could only walk with difficulty,
+I decided to sleep on board the _Anversville_ which was discharging
+cargo at the pier head. Here indeed were all the luxuries of Europe. A
+barber, a big bath, white spotless table-cloths, clean shining plate,
+red juicy beef and last, but by no means least, cold drinks. It is worth
+roughing it to experience the keen delight at returning to comforts
+which are never appreciated at their full worth when enjoyed every day.
+
+Next morning we leave Matadi for Boma in the _Heron_. The current is
+running down through the narrow channel at about ten knots an hour and
+the water roars and bubbles as though passing over rocks in a rapid. We
+therefore roll a good deal and travel very fast indeed until we reach
+Boma just before midday.
+
+Stories in the Congo grow with extraordinary rapidity and my attack of
+synovitis had been converted into a serious illness before it reached
+the capital. A room had therefore, been prepared at the _Croix Rouge_ in
+which I was soon comfortably installed. The hospital consists of eight
+sets of rooms arranged in four buildings, separated from each other, but
+with the verandahs connected by balconies. In the centre is a building
+in which the eight sisters live the whole thus forming a "t" with a
+building at each end of the lines and one where they intersect. The
+whole is situated on a hill from which a magnificent view can be
+obtained of the river and country around. Here I remained for nearly a
+week and was attended with much skill and care by the medical men and
+sisters. It was necessary to make some calls in the town and a carriage
+at Boma was placed at my disposal similar to the one at Stanleyville,
+but travelling in it was more comfortable for the roads are better in
+the capital. It was very hot and the mosquitoes were terribly hostile,
+but otherwise my visit was very pleasant and agreeable.
+
+On January 6th the German cruiser the _Vineta_ and the gunboat the
+_Habicht_ entered the Congo and the Governor General gave a dinner to
+the officers to which I received the honour of an invitation. I am
+tempted to give the menu to show that although living in the Upper Congo
+is not good, as a rule, in Boma it is possible to give a banquet worthy
+of anyone.
+
+              MENU
+               --
+      _Potage aux tomates_
+               --
+    _Coquilles de crevettes_
+               --
+     _Barbue. Sauce capres_
+        _Pommes nature_
+               --
+        _Filet de boeuf_
+ _Flageolets. Pommes rissolees_
+               --
+      _Asperges de Malines_
+        _Sauce au beurre_
+               --
+ _Pigeonneaux rotis. Petits pois_
+               --
+_Poulets farcis. Compote de mangues_
+               --
+   _Canetons rotis. Salade russe_
+               --
+            _Gateaux_
+       _Ananas au kirsch_
+      _Fruits.--Desserts_
+
+The wines were Oporlo, Hodiheimer, Niersteiner, Pichon Longueville 1893,
+Chateau Grand Larose 1893, Corton and Louis Roederer Champagne. The
+dinner was served admirably by native boys while the band of the Force
+Publique performed in the garden.
+
+The strong, grasping instinct of the native was well shown after I had
+paid off the "boys," written them good characters and made them handsome
+presents. At the last moment they all came and demanded a further tip
+which I rather indignantly refused to give. However, they showed by
+their manner then that they were well satisfied and knew very well that
+it would be very difficult to obtain such high wages again. I had many
+long talks with Mr. Vandamme, who was as usual, very hard at work, and
+Mr. Underwood who kindly helped me to settle many matters. Indeed,
+everyone with whom I came into contact, whether State Officials,
+Missionaries or Traders, were always extremely kind and courteous and
+converted what might have been a very unpleasant and dangerous journey
+into a most interesting tour and I sincerely hope that all will remain,
+as I hope they are now, good friends, whether they agree with me or not
+about the merits of the system of Government in the Congo.
+
+After bidding farewell to the residents at Boma, I left in the _Wall_ on
+January 10th and after a rapid journey to Banana, joined the
+_Anversville_ which immediately put to sea and by sunset the mouth of
+the Congo was out of sight.
+
+The voyage home was uneventful, except for a few days of strong head
+winds. Among the passengers were Mr. Gohr, the Director of Justice, who
+well deserved a holiday after his extremely responsible and arduous
+duties, Captain Stevens, the Commissaire of the Equator District, as
+cheerful and jolly as ever, Mr. Longlain, the Director of the A.B.I.R.
+Company who has come in for a quite unmerited share of abuse, and many
+other State Officials, many of whom were in an indifferent state of
+health. Two or three Catholic and some Baptist Missionaries were also
+travelling home and it was interesting and satisfactory to find that
+everyone, whether State Official, Missionary or Trader, was convinced
+that the Commission of Enquiry would issue a report which would
+correspond with his own opinion.
+
+There was plenty of time to arrange the impressions of the tour in order
+and to formulate some general ideas on the system of Government in the
+Congo and the manner in which it is administered. The whole system has
+been created and is controlled absolutely by one mind. It is a very
+simple and extremely practical machine, but it is very vast. The
+officials who work it therefore, have each their own special task
+allotted to them and very few appear to understand the principles on
+which the whole moves. The problem which has been faced and successfully
+overcome, is how an unknown land populated by savages can be developed
+and civilised by its own resources without heavily taxing the native and
+without poisoning him with alcohol.
+
+It is done in this manner. Each native is compelled to do a certain
+amount of work for the State. This results in the collection of great
+quantities of rubber and ivory for which the native is paid. The rubber
+and ivory are then sold at a profit in Europe and the sum so realised is
+used to pay the heavy expenses of transport, to keep up the Government
+and to open out new lines of communication throughout the country. The
+native is thus made to work instead of paying a tax in money and it is
+possible to raise enough revenue without selling him alcohol.
+
+As has been shown in these pages, the native is very grasping and very
+idle and has little idea at present of the value either of produce or
+work. He thus charges an extortionate amount for his goats and chickens,
+and demands heavy fees for services rendered. The State however, fixes
+the price of labour and food at its fair value and demands a certain
+amount of one or other from each village. This sometimes leads to
+discontent and rebellion just as do the taxes levied by other
+Governments, and it is necessary to occupy territory with troops. No
+soldier however, is allowed to have in his possession a rifle unless he
+is accompanied by a white officer, and if he tries to ill-treat the
+natives, is severely punished.
+
+The officials themselves, are subjected to the most severe discipline,
+and as they exist, so to speak, on the rungs of a ladder, each one can
+be punished by the one next above him, who is, in turn, responsible,
+until at length the summit is reached. Every Post is worked on identical
+principles and the responsibility for its success or failure, rests with
+the official in charge. He is not permitted to try experiments or to
+alter the system in the least degree, and can only use his moral power
+to influence the natives. The question has been asked whether this
+system is not contrary to the letter or spirit of the Treaty of 1885.
+Clause V. of that treaty runs as follows. "No Power which exercises or
+may exercise sovereign rights in the above mentioned regions shall be
+allowed to grant therein either monopoly or privilege of any kind in
+commercial matters; foreigners without distinction shall enjoy
+protection of their persons and goods as well as the right of acquiring
+and transferring moveable and immoveable property and the same treatment
+and rights as subjects of the nation in the exercise of their
+professions."
+
+In the first place it must be remembered that the Berlin Act applies to
+all the Powers possessing territory in the Congo basin and not to the
+Free State particularly, and secondly, that it was agreed upon by the
+Powers to prohibit monopolies and privileges in commercial matters and
+to suppress slavery, but not to interfere with the Government of the
+States or Colonies which were then or might be established and which
+might or might not sign the treaty. All the Powers indeed which signed
+the Act of Berlin of 1885 did so voluntarily and among them the Congo
+Free State which had already been recognised by the whole of Europe as
+an independent State. The signatory Powers to that Act did not create,
+define the boundaries, or in any way particularly specify the Congo Free
+State which is bound by it, therefore, to the same extent only as is
+England, France, Germany, or other signatory Powers. All these Powers at
+various times have declared that vacant land is Crown property. A German
+Imperial Order of November 26th 1895 says that the proprietorship of all
+vacant land in German East Africa belongs to the Empire. An Order issued
+by the Commissioner of the French Congo of September 26th 1891 runs
+"Uncultivated soil and vacant land which nobody legally claims shall be
+considered as belonging to the State and shall form part of the colonial
+domain[4]." In the British Empire, the right of the Government to
+declare vacant lands in the colonies Crown property has been frequently
+exercised[5]. In annexing all the vacant lands, the Congo Free State
+therefore, has only followed the usual custom practised by all
+countries, so that it is obvious these lands are absolutely the property
+of the State, which, therefore, has a perfect right either to sell or
+lease them to Companies, Missionaries or Traders, or to collect the
+produce from them itself.
+
+Indeed it was never intended that the whole Congo Basin should be pegged
+out into claims by a host of adventurers without any system, law or
+order, for such a proceeding would have speedily led to complete
+anarchy. Since then the vacant lands belong to the State, it is obvious
+that traders can only acquire landed property either from the State,
+from other traders or persons possessing land. Again it is obvious that
+a trader only has the right of purchasing the produce of the land from
+the owner and although he may buy for example, rubber, which a native
+Chief has grown on his own plantation, no Chief may go into the forest
+which is State territory, collect the rubber from it and sell it, for
+such would be simple robbery.
+
+Now the State imposes regulations upon the concessionary Companies and
+traders, which it also observes carefully itself on its own land in
+order that the rubber plants shall not be killed and furthermore it
+stipulates that all who take rubber juice, shall plant young rubber
+trees and vines to replace those which die in process of time. The
+supply of rubber is thus assured in the future. In spite however of the
+most stringent rules the officials of the private companies undoubtedly
+ill-treat the natives sometimes.
+
+What then would have been the result if the country had been parcelled
+out among a number of private traders, who had simply pegged out claims?
+Their object would have been to make a large fortune and return home as
+soon as possible. After a few years, therefore, all the existing rubber
+trees and vines would have been bled to death, no new ones would have
+been planted, and the native would certainly have been over-worked and
+ill-treated. The country would then have been deserted and left to
+return to savagery. The State itself on the other hand is working for
+the future. Everything which can grow is planted, the natives are daily
+becoming more civilised, Posts are being built, roads and waterways
+opened up and the whole place rendered beautiful and attractive.
+
+In the meantime, properly in the country is guarded, trade is perfectly
+free, and everyone, native and foreigner, is free to pursue his business
+in his own manner, subject only to such laws as are imposed in all
+civilised countries for the good of the community at large.
+
+The Congo Free State has indeed, without breaking any Treaty, solved the
+problem which has baffled the combined wisdom of all the ancient great
+colonial Powers. It exists on its own resources without poisoning the
+natives with alcohol; it extracts much wealth from the soil without fear
+of ever exhausting it; it opens up great tracts of land without running
+heavily into debt, and--noblest of all--it daily converts naked cannibal
+savages into self-respecting responsible people.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] See _New Africa_ by Senator E. Descamps, p. 73 _et seq_.
+
+[5] In Canada, Australia and the North West.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE CONGO
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