Stanley Pool

“ Then comes the upper series of Livingstone Falls, extending for eighty-five miles, from Manyanga to Leopoldville, on Stanley Pool. This practically brings the mighty flood through the mountainous region of 240 miles in width, and opens a navigable stretch of 1068 miles, extending from Stanley Pool to Stanley Falls. From Stanley Falls to Nyangwe, in the fruitful country of the Manyuema, a nation in themselves, and notorious in Central Africa for their valor and cruelty in war, is a course of 385 miles, navigable for light craft. From Nyangwe to Lake Moero the river course is 440 miles. ”

“ In 1878 Grenfell was on his way up the river—travelling along narrow paths flanked by grass often fifteen feet high, and crossing swamps and rivers, till after thirteen attempts and in eighteen months he reached Stanley Pool, February 1881. A thousand miles of river lay between Stanley Pool and Stanley Falls, and even above Stanley Falls lay thirteen hundred miles of navigable river. Canoes were perilous. Hippopotami upset them, and men were dragged down and eaten by crocodiles. They must have a steamer right up there beyond the Falls in the very heart of Africa. ”

“ They know the Congo by heart from Stanley Pool to Upoto, a distance of 600 miles; are acquainted with the military strength and commercial genius of all the tribes, and can compute the value of cloth, metals, beads and trinkets, in ivory, livestock and market produce, as quickly as the most skillful accountant. Blood brotherhood was made with Mangombo, valuable gifts were interchanged, and then the chief, in a long speech, asked Stanley59 to intercede in his behalf in a war he was waging with Magwala and Mpika,—which he did in such a way as to bring about a truce. ”

“ Tippu-Tib had not captured the vessel, the Soudanese had not mutinied against the Major, the natives had not assaulted the sleeping camp by night, the steamer had not been sunk by a snag nor had she been run aground, and the boat for which we were morally responsible to the Mission was in as good order and condition as when she left Stanley Pool. But in Africa it is too wearing to be the victim of such anxieties. ”

“ It deals with Ngalyema, who was chief of the Stanley Pool District in the early eighties. He demanded and received a large quantity of goods for the permission to establish a station here. After the explorer had camped within ten miles of the Pool the old pirate pretended that he had not received the goods and sought to extort more. Stanley refused to be bullied, whereupon the chief threatened to attack him in force. Let Stanley now tell the story, for it is an illustration of the way he combated the usury and cunning of the Congo native. ”

“ Then the site of the town of Manyanga was laid out, and a force of men was employed to build a road around the cataract and haul the boats over it. This point is the center of exchange for a wide territory. Slaves, ivory, rubber, oil, pigs, sheep, goats and fowls are brought in abundance to the market, and it is a favorite stopping-place for caravans from the mouth of the Congo to Stanley Pool. But the natives are crusty, and several times Stanley had to interfere to stop the quarrels which arose between his followers and the insolent market people. ”

“ Stanley in charge of the expedition; off for Central Africa; rounding the cataracts; the rendezvous at Stanley Pool; who is Emin? his life and character; a favorite of Gordon; fall of Khartoum; Emin cut off in equatorial Soudan; rising of the Mahdi; death of Gordon; Emin lost in his equatorial province; his capitals and country; Stanley pushes to the Aruwimi; Tippoo Tib and his promises; Barttelot and the camps; trip up the Aruwimi; wanderings in the forest; battles with the dwarfs; sickness, starvation and death; lost in the wilds; the plains at last; grass and banana plantations ”

“ I would particularly mention Captain Van Kerkhoven, Chief of Bangala, and Lieutenant Liebrechts, Chief of Stanley Pool, and I trust that they may meet with the reward and merit they deserve.
June 6th.—This morning Tippu-Tib sent for me and asked me if I thought he would get his money for the men. I told him I could give no assurance of that. He then said he must have a guarantee, which I and Mr. Jameson have given; terms of agreement and guarantee are attached. All receipts, agreements, &c., made between Arabs and myself and signed by them I have sent to Mr. Holmwood, and the copies to you. ”

“ The people are thrifty and sprightly. Their markets are full of sweet potatoes, eggs, fish, palm-wine, etc., and the shapely youths, male and female, indulge in dances which possess as much poetry of motion as the terpsichorean performances of the more highly favored children of civilization.
42
The next station was Manyanga, a destination indeed, for here is a formidable cataract, which defies the light steamers of the expedition, and there will have to be another tedious portage to the open waters of Stanley Pool. It was now May 1, 1881. Manyanga is 140 miles from Vivi. ”

“ Yambuya. only soldiers, and more capable of garrison duty than the Zanzibaris, will be better utilized than on the road.
The steamer Stanley left Yambuya on the 22nd of this month for Stanley Pool. If she meets with no mischance she ought to be at Leopoldville on the 2nd of July. In two days more she will be loaded with about 500 loads of our goods, which were left in charge of Mr. J. R. Troup. This gentleman will embark, and on the 4th of July I assume that the Stanley will commence her ascent of the river, and arrive at Bolobo on the 9th. Fuel being ready, the 125 men in charge of Messrs. ”

“ A pool of good water a few hundred yards from the roadside is the only supply caravans can obtain, nearer than Tura in Unyamwezi. The tsetse or chufwa-fly, as called by the Wasawahili, stung us dreadfully, which is a sign that large game visit the pool sometimes, but must not be mistaken for an indication that there is any in the immediate neighbourhood of the water. A single pool so often frequented by passing caravans, which must of necessity halt here, could not be often visited by the animals of the forest, who are shy in this part of Africa of the haunts of man. ”

“ Nature appears charming; in the dead woods and monotonous forest his mind becomes overwhelmed with delight. I speak for myself, as a careful analysation of the attack, in all its severe, plaintive, and silly phases, appeared to me. I used to amuse myself with taking notes of the humorous and the terrible, the fantastic and exaggerated pictures that were presented to me—even while suffering the paroxysms induced by fever.
We arrived at a large pool, known as the Ziwani, after a four hours' march in a S.S.W. direction, the 1st of October. ”

“ Outside nothing is heard beyond the cry of a stray florican, or guinea-fowl, which has lost her mate, or the hoarse croaking of the frogs in the pool hard by, or the song of the crickets which seems to lull the day to rest; inside our camp are heard the gurgles of the gourd pipes as the men inhale the blue ether, which I also love. ”

“ Congo. be lifted, being foul among the rocks below, we had to cut ourselves loose and to return to Kinshassa landing-place. Captain Whitley and Mr. David Charters the engineer set to to repair the rudder, and at 8 P.M. their task was completed.
The next morning we had better fortune, and in due time we reached Kimpoko at the head of the Pool, where the other steamers awaited us.
The Peace led the advance up river on the 3rd; but the Stanley drew up, passed us, and reached camp an hour and a half ahead of us. The Henry Reed was last because of want of judgment on the part of her captain. ”

“ I received three letters from up river, one from Troup at Manyanga, Swinburne at Kinshassa, and Glave at Equator Station, all giving a distressing account of the steamers Stanley, Peace, Henry Reed, and En Avant. The first is damaged throughout according to my informants, the Mission steamers require thorough overhauling, the En Avant has been reduced to a barge. Mr. Troup suggests that we carry a lighter or two from Manyanga to the Pool, a thing utterly impossible. We were already overloaded because of the rice we carried to feed nearly 800 people through the starving country. ”

“ Stanley has done so much to make us acquainted with, hides him from us at present in her innermost recesses. [1] Speculation is rife not only as to his whereabouts, but even as to his being alive. Mystery always enshrouds the doings and fate of him who ventures beyond those gloomy barriers of forest, mountain, swamp and river, which screen Central Africa from even the faint and reflected gleams of civilization. ”

“ Again, Stanley was acting a part. At heart he felt miserable. The sadness of Paul's face haunted him, and as soon as he could he escaped from his companions to the solitude of the dormitory.
He had been puzzled all along how it was Paul had acted in such a cowardly way at the sand-pit. He knew that he had no love for fighting; but once having taken up the gage of battle, he was not one to shrink from it. What was it his father had said? That no braver youth could be found than Paul Percival. His uncle had the same opinion, and they were not the men to make mistakes. ”

“ Stanley was entirely satisfied with the performance of the Thunderbolt, and was smiling as he got out of his seat in the garage, after the trial on the track.
“Paul,” he said to the mechanician. “You might as well look things over again. And perhaps it would be well if you got around very early in the morning to make sure that everything is right. The other men here are all safe, of course, or the Moussard people wouldn’t have them. But I believe in seeing for myself that my machine is right before it starts.”
“I’ll do it, sir,” replied Paul briefly. “I’ll have the car in good shape. ”

“ Nor shall you long be kept in ignorance of the fate that awaits you, for the knowledge will add to your torment. The highest intellect of the nation shall pass the sentence. The valley will be rid of you forever and we shall live in peace, knowing well that your secret ends with your lives,” he roared.
“Quizquiz,” said Stanley, recovering his senses sufficiently to speak, and shaking his clenched fists up at the Inca before the guards roughly grasped his arms. “You cannot frighten us with your threats; it is you who are afraid, not we. ”

“ Stanley's fitness to conduct the expedition he undertook. I pin my faith upon the man, and, thinking of him, I forget the dangers and the difficulties which have beset him on all sides. Why dwell upon the obstacles to be overcome in the four hundred miles of trackless country lying between Yambuya, his starting place on the Aruwimi River, and Emin's headquarters at Wadelai, on the Bahr el Jehel. ”

“ Henceforth the field of adventure and exploration was his, and he easily became the most noted of African travelers, till Stanley established for himself a greater fame. What the Church lost a whole world gained. His further travels, how he lost and buried his faithful wife on the banks of the Shiré, his own sad death in the swamps of Lake Bangweola, the return of his dead body to Zanzibar, borne by his faithful servants Chuma and Susi, have all been described elsewhere in this volume. ”

“ He had to fight almost constant battles with the natives, and the great river, with its swift current, that swept many of his canoes over the rapids, was almost as dangerous as the savages. In one of these rapids poor Frank Pocock was drowned, and when, after suffering the most terrible hardships, Stanley reached the Portuguese settlement near the mouth of the Congo, he had only one hundred and fifteen followers left, and these, like himself, were nearly dead from starvation, disease, and hardship. ”

“ Don't you think it will be better to keep what we know up our sleeves for the present, in view of what may come after?"
"You're right, Paul, as you always are!" exclaimed Stanley enthusiastically.
"No, old fellow, there is only One who is always right," answered Paul earnestly. "We're always patting ourselves on the back and fancying ourselves mighty clever; but we're not. We're asses—always slipping and tumbling about, and when not doing that, running down the wrong road and butting our stupid heads against posts or walls. ”

“ Mr. Stanley and a part of the expedition were at this time on the banks. No more strange and perilous position than that of Zaidi can be imagined. A small canoe was lowered by means of a cable of ratans; but the rope snapped and the canoe went over the falls. Poles tied to creepers were thrown toward him but they failed to reach. The rock was full fifty yards from the shore. Stanley ordered another canoe, fastened by cables, to be lowered. Only two men could be found to man it—Uledi, the coxswain of the “Lady Alice,” and Marzouk, a boat boy. ”

“ In 1873 he received the patron's gold medal of the Royal geographical society. The New York “Herald” and the London “Daily Telegraph” again sent Stanley to explore the lake region of equatorial Africa. He reached Zanzibar in the autumn of 1874. There learning that Livingstone had died in central Africa, he determined to shape his course northwest and explore the region of Lake Victoria N'yanza. Leaving at the head of 300 men, after many hardships and severe encounters with the natives, he reached it in February, 1875, having lost on the way 104 men by death or desertion. ”

“ CHAPTER II. Stanley’s Mission. “I THINK I can walk,” were the first words she spoke, as they were dragged out of the water.
“I don’t think you can,” returned Stanley Downs positively. “I will carry you.”
He did so. There were half a dozen stone steps from the wooden boat landing to the top of the wall. From there, it was a trip of some five hundred feet to the veranda of the hotel, which faced the broad lake and the magnificent vista of mountain, where the verdure-clad slopes were bursting into the fresh green beauty of spring. ”