CHAPTER XI.

ON THE UPPER CONGO.

Between Stanley Pool and Stanley Falls--Region of the islands--Accidents to the _Peace_ and to the _Stanley_--Stay at Bolobo--In the land of plenty--With the Bangala--Yesterday and to-day--Reception--The advance-guard--On the Aruwimi--Arrival at the Yambuya Rapids.

Altogether unique is the navigable highway which the Congo forms between Stanley Pool and Stanley Falls. The distance between these two points is over 1000 miles, or something less than the united length of the Rhine and the Rhone. Its width is nowhere less than 400 yards, and in many parts extends to several miles; between the points of confluence of the Mongalla and the Itumbiri it is over twenty miles, about the width of the Straits of Dover, and unapproached in magnitude by any other water-course in the world.

From the district of Bolobo, until it has passed the point of confluence with the Aruwimi, its course is studded with innumerable islands, and a navigator has not infrequently the simultaneous choice of ten or more different channels, each in itself a river some hundreds of yards in breadth, and separated by islands that vary from three miles to thirty miles in length. From the entire absence of any external indications, these channels at present require very watchful navigation, and in some parts present a certain amount of danger; but there can be little doubt that when the forthcoming survey has been completed, at least one channel will be proved to exist that is perfectly adapted for rapid navigation, and available to steamers of considerable size.

All the islands appear heavily clothed with vegetation which is reflected in the waters around; palm-trees of five or six species, tamarisks, cotton-trees, acacias, calamus, cola-trees, and gigantic baobabs grow in profusion; and the ubiquitous caoutchouc creeper, with its white blossoms, of which the natives have not yet learnt the value, casts its interlacing growth over the massy forest, as if to throw an impenetrable barrier in the way of any curious intruder.

Anyone navigating these narrow channels, with their bordering of flowers and verdure, might almost imagine himself on the ornamental waters of some familiar and cultivated domain. The scene is quite restful to the eye, after the imposing if somewhat monotonous panorama which the river presents when the view stretches afar across the woods and savannahs on its shores.

The banks beyond Chumbiri are for the most part low, being only broken by a few hills at Upoto. Everywhere the soil seems wonderfully fertile, and is clothed with a dense vegetation which is frequently enlivened by the more brilliant green of the banana plantations that surround the villages, and by the aid of a telescope may often be made out miles away over the plains beyond the swampy shores of the river.

The population is very irregularly distributed, some large tracts being apparently quite deserted, whilst in others an almost uninterrupted line of villages extends away for miles. Generally friendly, the people not unfrequently are quite hospitable. They come in considerable numbers in their canoes to greet a passing boat, signalling to travellers that they should stop and trade with them, and always showing themselves eager for business transactions.

Two mishaps have to be recorded as occurring to the expedition on the Upper Congo; the _Peace_ lost her tiller, and the _Stanley_ went aground between Chumbiri and Bolobo. Stanley describes the two accidents in a letter sent to his Committee from the Bangala station, and dated May 31st:--

“On leaving Kinchassa, the _Henry Reed_ and the _Stanley_ filed off and commenced their first day’s passage; but the _Peace_, when it had hardly proceeded two miles, was stopped by an accident. Her tiller broke, so that she would not answer her helm. Her captain immediately lowered two anchors; a violent shock, however, sent the boat into a rapid current, and we were obliged to cut the chains in order to rescue ourselves from peril. We had to go back to Kinchassa, whence the captain and engineer had to go six miles lower down to Leopoldville to have the damaged tiller repaired, so that an entire day was lost.

“We resumed our voyage next morning, and for four days maintained a moderate speed, the _Stanley_ and _Henry Reed_ always making good heading, the _Peace_ still continuing in the rear.

[Illustration: THE EXPEDITION ON THE UPPER CONGO.]

“Between Kinchassa and Msuata, a distance of eighty-eight miles, we spent two days longer than is usually enough, and when we had passed Msuata we made a still more indifferent progress. The speed of the _Peace_ continued to slacken; after a while it was a hard matter for her to contend with the current, until at length she was completely overpowered and began to be driven backward. We cast anchor at once, and for a second time found ourselves in a dilemma.

“Forthwith we proceeded to land the passengers from the disabled vessel, and sent on a small boat to Bolobo to procure some assistance. Next day the unfortunate craft had to be ignominiously towed by the _Henry Reed_ to the entrance of the harbour of Bolobo.

“But as though it was not vexatious enough for us that we should be thus retarded by the _Peace_, the _Stanley_ must next get into trouble.

“Imagine us, as we were following on in the _Henry Reed_, coming up to discover the _Stanley_, lying in broad daylight, without steam, on the shore. The great boat had been venturing too recklessly among the shoals, and here was the result--the stern had been stove in. Happily our alarm was somewhat exaggerated; the injury was not so serious but that the engineers found they could patch on some plates of metal and make the ship fit for navigation; and all hands being set to work on the task, it was ready to proceed in a couple of days.”

Bolobo, where the expedition was thus delayed, is situated on the Free State shore, a little above the Kasai. It is the most populous centre in the territory of the Bayanzi, a rich and commercial nation, trading principally in ivory. It contains about 30,000 inhabitants. It has parallel lines of streets, and public squares, and the dwelling-houses are very comfortable, their fields of manioc, maize, and sweet potatoes extending inland as far as the eye can reach. They are a fine, high-spirited race of people. The Congo Association formerly had a station here, which is now only occupied by the English Baptist Mission.

For some days after arriving on May 8th, the expedition remained at Bolobo, so as to allow the _Stanley_ to go back to the confluence of the Kasai and fetch up the detachment which, under Major Barttelot, had been making its way on foot from the Black River to the mouth of the Kwa. On the 14th anchors were weighed, and an entrance was made into the island-labyrinth of the Upper Congo.

Beyond Bolobo no noteworthy incident occurred; there was no loss of life nor damage to property; the boats continued the voyage by day, being brought-to every night.

The usual rule was that anchor should be cast about 5 P.M., by which hour a distance varying from fifteen to thirty miles would have been accomplished. For two hours or more the men would be occupied in collecting wood for the engines during the following day; during the evening the clang of the hatchets chopping up the firewood would be accompanied by the shrill choruses of the men as they did their work; large fires would be kindled; in due time the cooks would have completed their preparations, and the evening meal would be served.

No longer now was there any scarcity of provisions, such as had caused anxiety in the district of the Falls and at Stanley Pool. “Food is abundant,” wrote Stanley; “the natives everywhere receive us so well, and bring us such abundance of victuals, that my people have already quite forgotten their privations. I reckon that every man must have gained from 10 lb. to 20 lb. in weight between leaving Kinchassa and arriving at Bangala, and I am inclined to think that this sudden increase of burden must tell somewhat to the disadvantage of the speed of our boats.”

On the 18th the flotilla passed Lukolela, the station of another Protestant Mission, and on the 23rd reached Equatorville, a Free State settlement, where Stanley was gratified at meeting a former associate, Captain Van Gèle, who was on the point of ascending the Mobangi, to investigate its source.

Having been successfully repaired at Bolobo, the _Peace_ was now able to keep the lead, and on the 30th on emerging from the midst of the islands, the party on board sighted the extensive buildings of the station of the Bangala.

Bangala is the appellation of one of the most notorious of the tribes of the Upper Congo. It occupies both banks of the river above its confluence with the Mobangi. They are a splendid race of men, above the average in height, singularly adroit in the manipulation of their canoes, and held in terror by the neighbouring people for their courage in war.

[Illustration: NATIVE CANOE ON THE UPPER CONGO.

(_From a Sketch by M. Louis Amelot._)]

It was in making good his passage past the numerous Bangala villages on both banks of the river, that Stanley on his first descent of the Congo, in 1877, had to engage in the sanguinary strife which he describes in his “Through the Dark Continent.”

“Incessant beating of their drums,” he says, “had roused the savages to the height of frenzy; they mustered their canoes; they loaded their guns; they sharpened their knives and their lances; and all simply because we were intruders, navigating their waters.

“As we drifted onwards a number of the canoes approached us. I hailed the natives; I received no reply. Immediately afterwards they fired into our boats.

“The fight thus begun was carried on with equal vigour on both sides, and lasted so long that I was obliged to make a fresh distribution of ammunition. Each village seemed to send its contingent to aid the attack, and at three o’clock the number of canoes taking part in the combat was sixty-three. It was not till half-past five that the assailants retired.

“This was the fiercest of all the conflicts which we had to sustain on this terrible river.”

Twelve years have since elapsed, and in that interval the events that have transpired have completely modified the condition of the country, and the disposition of its population towards strangers. A great settlement has risen in the midst of the Bangala villages; the chiefs who in 1877 instigated the hostilities against Stanley have become the friends and _protégés_ of the white man; human sacrifices have been abolished; steamers make regular visits to the stations; order is maintained by armed force; the natives readily take service under the State and have no reluctance to go down to Boma and Banana, 1500 miles away from their homes; and the Congo army reckons in its numbers scarcely less than 700 Bangala soldiers.

These highly satisfactory results have been brought about mainly by the intelligence and tact of the two Belgian officers who were the first to be placed in control of this remote station, Captains Coquillat and Vankerkoven, ably seconded by their subordinates Lieutenants Baert and Dhanis.

Bangala is the finest of the stations which the State owns on the Upper Congo. Stanley failed to recognise it, not having been in the country since in January 1884 he had held his palaver with the old chief Mata-Buyké.

Marvellous were the changes for the better. The river now was alive with more than a hundred canoes, filled no longer with armed warriors, but with friendly people waving their hands in welcome; upon the river bank a crowd was cordially cheering the arrival of the vessels, whilst a goodly throng was hurrying down to the wooden landing-place. Within the settlement, enclosed by its palisades and trenches, rose tier upon tier of buildings constructed of kiln-burnt bricks, and far beyond these extended large plantations. The garrison, which reckoned in its ranks some of the old assailants of 1877, was drawn up in well-disciplined order and presented arms, not lances nor old-fashioned muskets, but modern breechloading sniders.

Stanley landed, followed by his officers, together with Tippoo Tib and his retinue. He was received under the verandah of the central building by all the European staff, headed by Lieutenant Baert, who, in the absence of the chief Commissioner, Captain Vankerkoven, did the honours of the occasion, and hospitably offered wine, as token of welcome. In acknowledging the courtesy Stanley spoke a few words to this effect: “On landing here to-day I cannot help recalling the very different reception that was accorded me ten years ago by the same natives who are now so confiding and enthusiastic. This prosperous station, these commodious erections, these well-cultivated fields, this orderly and well-drilled force, and all those signs of civilisation which have been so rapidly imported into the heart of a nation that was yesterday, as it were, unknown to the civilised world, make a deep impression upon me. I congratulate you on the great work that has been accomplished, and at the same time I thank you for the kind and hearty welcome that you now give me. In the face of such achievements in the past, who can entertain any doubts about the future?”

While he was speaking the artillery was thundering out a salute, greeting the advent of the former Chief Commissioner of the Congo Association.

The expedition stayed three days at Bangala.

Meantime, the _Henry Reed_ was sent on to convey Tippoo Tib to Stanley Falls, Major Barttelot and forty soldiers accompanying him as an escort. The ship was then to return, without delay, as far as the Aruwimi Rapids. It was on the 2nd of June when she was despatched ahead under full steam, and on the same day, the _Stanley_ and the _Peace_, with the boats in tow, resumed their onward way.

Apart from the inconvenience arising from heavy rains and smart squalls, the passage from Bangala to the Aruwimi was unmarked by any special incident. On the 16th the steamers quitted the waters of the great river for the diminished channel of its affluent. Two days later the rapids of Yambuya were in sight, and the anchors had to be lowered. Here navigation must cease. The voyage from Kinchassa had occupied six weeks; this was about eight days more than the estimated time, a delay that was regarded as quite unimportant.

So far everything had gone prosperously, and answered to the expectation of the chief of the expedition.