M. C. Plehn

“ When the steamer arrived at Wadelai, the people crowded to the shore and expressed their joy in loud and enthusiastic shouts. It was like the triumph of a conqueror. The magistrates in white clothes overwhelmed him with expressions of devotion and hand kissing. Honored by the troops, greeted with the thunder of artillery, and overcome with surprise at the cordiality of his welcome, Emin made his way to his residence where he received the congratulations of the officers. ”

“ It was Emin’s dearest wish to remain in German East Africa, where he had been so cordially treated, and devote his service to the fatherland. To one of his retiring nature the idea of exhibiting himself in Europe was not attractive. He certainly would have received ovations everywhere. He would have been wined and dined and honors would have been showered upon him. But what did he care for them? His nature revolted against making an exhibition of himself and of becoming a central figure in celebrations. He would rather remain in Africa with his savages and collect beetles and bird skins. ”

“ Great bats flitted like spirits through the air. “The father of the four wings,” as the Arabs call the nightjar, with its long fantastic feathers, which in flying give it the appearance of a dragon, flew noiselessly about. Bluish lights marked the course of the great “lamp carriers,” the tropical fireflies, and whirring night butterflies fluttered about, hardly visible to the eye in their dark dress. All nature was filled with the deepest peace. Then Emin would tell her of his quiet peaceful life in the far northern cities ”

“ You have touched perhaps the most painful wound from which the welfare and civilization of this region, so richly blest by Nature, are suffering. But where shall one begin to cure the evil? The negro people of the interior sell their prisoners, captured in their petty wars, and look upon it as their surest source of revenue. The Niam-Niam and other tribes simply eat their prisoners, and it is surely a step in advance if they sell instead of eat the unlucky victims. Those Arab hordes which have invaded the Soudan from Egypt and Nubia with their hireling soldiers are the worst. ”

“ We have all the joys, but at the same time all the discomforts of forest life in abundance. Our joys are restricted to those pleasures which sublime nature furnishes for everyone, while slime and water, slippery ascents and descents, uprooted and fallen trees, myriads of ants and small stinging flies, torment the men. ”

“ Finally, a fugitive from Kordofan told a strange story. The Mahdi informed his followers that a great commander had come to Khartoum from the north with sixty thousand soldiers. He meant Gordon. Then he showed them three baskets and said in the most ecstatic manner: “In these baskets are the souls of all these strangers. The earth will swallow up twenty thousand of them. Twenty thousand will disappear in the air. The rest will be slain by the Mahdi, the true Prophet.” Emin was encouraged by the first part of the story. That so great an army should be near gave him courage and hope for release. ”

“ A year later the treacherous Kibonge was made to pay for his infamy, for he was taken prisoner by a European expedition and put to death.
Thus Emin, the quiet, genial man, who never did an injury to anyone, but conferred almost endless benefactions, died as he had lived—alone. The serious, strenuous work of his life brought him little gratitude. He lived to see the collapse of his great creation—the Equatorial Provinces. ”

“ They sought shelter under banana trees, shields of the natives, woollen covers, straw mats, earthen and copper pots, saddles, tent covers, each one enveloped in a blue mist and completely overcome by speechless terror. The poor donkeys, with ears thrown back, closed eyes, and drooping heads, and the caged fowl, with their bedraggled feathers, added to the general wretchedness of appearance. Hunger, sickness, and wounds from the thorns in the woods disabled many. They were also exposed to the poisoned arrows of lurking savages. ”

“ After having been deprived so long of nearly everything that we consider the ordinary necessities of life, after wandering alone in the wilderness, in primeval forests and over sunburned plains, among cannibals and cruel man-trafficking Arabs, he knew that he would find a white man in Lado who could speak his native tongue,—a zealous scholar and finely cultured man, who would acquaint him with everything from which he had been excluded so long—a friend who would welcome him with a cordial grasp of the hand ”

“ Stuhlmann refused to leave the Pasha, who was sick himself and in need of help, but Emin threw all his authority into the scales. As his superior he must be obeyed and he gave Stuhlmann a written order by which he could justify himself before the world and to his own conscience. So they divided men, weapons, munition, and supplies. Emin kept thirty-eight people, a part of them women and children, while Stuhlmann led one hundred and thirty-three to the coast and as a matter of fact saved them. ”

“ No African explorer ever had the welfare of the Soudanese more at heart than he, and yet he met a cruel fate at the hands of treacherous Arabs and was murdered while studying his favorite plants and birds. In all his long career he never injured anyone, but constantly strove for the welfare of the natives and retained his confidence in them after it was apparent to almost everyone else that they were treacherously conspiring against him. ”

“ Ferida’s Departure
Thus it happened that Emin, hardly arisen from his bed of suffering, was again contemplating a mission to the interior of that continent out of which Stanley had but just conducted him with so much effort. But one thing troubled him—his anxiety for his child. Ferida had been kept far away from him during his illness and when she was brought back to him her joy was unbounded.
“Oh papa,” she exclaimed, “now you are never going away from me again. We shall always be together.” ”

“ Emin resumed his scientific pursuits and had it not been for his utter seclusion from the world and his lack of ammunition which had been nearly exhausted in subduing the savages in his vicinity, he and his people, who were absolutely loyal to him, might have been glad to remain to the end of their lives in this lost nook of the world. It was imperative, however, to secure the possibility of return, and on this account Casati was sent to King Kabrega at Unjoro, whom Emin had previously known and who had given him many proofs of his friendship. ”

“ It is dreadful to think that so many of these poor captives have perished on the way from hunger and brutal treatment and that they have been needlessly sacrificed. And yet it is asserted that the Egyptian government has abolished the slave trade and made the exporting of blacks impossible. ”

“ He forced them to go on by harsh measures, lest the expedition should prove a failure. And besides, he who remained behind was inevitably a dead man. The soil was full of decaying vegetation, the atmosphere was hot and close and filled with exhalations from myriads of decaying insects, leaves, plants, twigs, and stalks. At every step the head or neck, arms or legs were held fast by tough vines, thorns of bushes, poisonous ivies or monstrous thistles, which tore them as they sought to extricate themselves. ”

“ On the tenth of December, in the early morning, Stuhlmann departed with a sad heart. “I hope,” said Emin, “to see you again in a month. If I am overcome by force and cannot come, remember me to my child.” Only a handshake, a last wave of the hand, and they parted, never to meet again.
After Stuhlmann’s departure Emin’s health improved somewhat, but many of the sick died. The natives had fled because of the pest and thus supplies could not be procured and there was great suffering from hunger. Dissatisfaction, drunkenness, and disorder prevailed and Emin had to resort to the lash. ”

“ There were many grounds for discontent in the Soudan. The venality of the officials, the unjust and oppressive tax levies, the partiality shown to agents had quietly and slowly created excitement among the people. As Emin told his friend, the attempted suppression of the slave trade had obstructed the sources of wealth and together with the extortionate taxes had impoverished the country without having beneficial effects of any kind. The hatred grew daily and this precept of the Koran found an echo in their hearts: “Slay those who would slay you. ”

“ Stanley came at once from America and secured all the necessary supplies, weapons, and articles for barter in such quantities that Emin could hardly have long contained himself had he possessed them. Nine Europeans, at the cost of much self-sacrifice, accompanied the expedition as officers. Among them was Dr. Parke, a noble friend of humanity, who had acquired great fame by alleviating the fearful sufferings of travellers and saving many lives. The next step was the selection of a route and Stanley chose one along the Congo and across the equator, a hitherto untraversed region. ”

“ God protect thee from the faithless, Amen, with the sanction of the Highest and Greatest, the Sender of good. Only ten of our own followers died the death of faith in this victory and no others were injured. ”

“ The English government advised the removal of the government officials and soldiers from the Soudan, which included Emin and his people. It was a heroic undertaking, but one without hope of success. The removal of sixty thousand people through a country in open revolt, swarming with fanatical rebels, without sufficient means of transportation or arrangements for subsistence, was inevitably destined to end in a catastrophe. For this difficult undertaking General Gordon, who had before this rendered important service in the Soudan, was again called upon. He offered himself freely and willingly. ”

“ All Arabs must subject themselves to the German government, with all their relatives and possessions, and hoist the German flag as a sign of their loyalty. They will be allowed to select their own governor, who shall be approved by the German government and be paid by it. The property rights of the Arabs and the practice of their religion shall be recognized by it. The governor shall maintain order and furnish German expeditions with supplies. ”

“ The people supply them with ivory, grain of various kinds, honey, wax, and butternut oil, but none of this comes to the government storehouse. It is all lavished in the most scandalous manner by the officials upon their hangers-on and dependents. These people not only pay for nothing, but they take everything they can. In the Amadi district, for instance, there are at least ten thousand negroes, and they had to support two thousand good-for-nothings by their field labor, for they have neither hunting nor live stock. They did not even allow these poor men to work quietly in their fields. ”

“ Thus we see the genial man in the midst of the alarming dangers which menaced him on all sides and the pressing cares which weighed him down, sitting quietly like a true philosopher and statesman and attending to his duties. ”

“ On the twenty-ninth of September Emin’s people held a conference with him. They notified him that the greatest dissatisfaction prevailed, that fifteen men had deserted, that the porters could not go any farther, and that they could find nothing to eat. Emin explained to them that they would soon come to a fertile country where there was an abundance of food. He would send out fifty of his most vigorous men, who would quickly return loaded with fruit and lead them safely to that blessed country. ”

“ Added to all this we have at times the pangs of hunger, for wide stretches of territory are unpopulated and the plundering Manjemas have left nothing edible in the country. If one depends upon hunting he may soon starve, for the monkeys and gray parrots rarely ever come in sight. The forest is a paradise for the collector and my bird collection has many treasures. Frogs and insects also are very numerous. There are also surprisingly beautiful specimens of plants. If one could remain longer in a given place he would find an abundance of new things. ”

“ As the expedition neared the station, shots were fired as a welcome. The advancing boys and carriers made way and Junker perceived a body of men in faultlessly white garments coming to meet him. At their head he at once recognized his friend, Dr. Emin Pasha, a slim, almost haggard man of little more than medium height, with a small face, dark full beard, and deep-set eyes, whose sight was rendered keener by spectacles. ”

“ The enemy cannot long maintain a siege with many people, for the country is destitute of subsistence. He must buy corn at Makraka and that is a long way off.”
“But they are already well provided. The Arabs supply them with everything they need, and we here in Lado, even if we are not overcome by arms, will perish from hunger.” ”

“ Their sting is more painful than that of the wasp or the red ant. They traverse the roads in armies, and plants and trees swarm with them. When November came, the expedition had been reduced one half in number and only two hundred men emerged from the darkness of the woods into clear daylight.
In Stanley’s account of this journey he only speaks of these small pests and is thankful that the larger animals of the African plains avoided the forests. But this is not always the case, for the wilderness abounds with elephants, buffaloes, panthers, leopards, jackals, antelopes, and gazelles. ”

“ But the one thing which was his consolation in all his hard days and which was occupying him at the very hour of his death was his devotion to science, which did not die with him, but has been and always will be of great value to the world. ”

“ Not a person in the Equatorial Provinces believed the reports of previous defeat or the destruction of Hicks Pasha’s army. So the efforts of Emin to concentrate his entire strength in the Soudan were fruitless. His officers had no intention of leaving Lado. Unfortunately the despatch referring to evacuation was in French. Its genuineness was not only doubted, but it was regarded as an invention of Emin’s. With the intention of going southward and thence to the east coast, Emin sent messengers to Lado to prepare his people for their departure. ”

“ The government made a profit out of the garden as the surplus of its products was sold daily for a fixed sum. There were such gardens at all the stations and Emin exerted himself to supply the natives with seeds of all kinds and instructions how to plant them so that they might have the benefit of fruit and vegetables. He explained, however, that the negroes were so easy-going and childlike by nature that he always had trouble with them. ”