CHAPTER VII.

THE RELIEF-EXPEDITION.

Attempted expeditions of Dr. Fischer and Dr. Lenz--Geographical Society of Edinburgh--Routes to Wadelai from the east--The Congo route--Formation of relief-committee in London--Arrival of Stanley in Europe--Congo flotilla placed at his disposal by King of the Belgians--European members of expedition--Departure from London--Stanley at Cairo--Tippoo Tib accompanies Stanley--The “Madura”--Start from Zanzibar.

Three years had passed without any direct communication with the Europeans blockaded in the southern Soudan.

It was in 1882 that letters had been brought from Lupton and Junker to Meshra-er-Rek, and thence conveyed to Khartoom by the “Ismailia,” the last steamer that made the passage of the Upper Nile. Amongst those on board on this occasion was Junker’s assistant, the naturalist, Frederic Bohndorf, who was fortunate in getting safely to Egypt.

Vague rumours from time to time reached Zanzibar, carried by the ivory traders, that some white men with troops were in the vicinity of Lake Albert; and then came the more definite tidings that Junker and Casati were safe at Lado, and at no great distance from Emin Bey. Whereupon, Dr. Junker’s brother wrote from St. Petersburg to M. Rohlfs, the German consul at Zanzibar, to ascertain the possibility of despatching an expedition of relief. He was told that if the necessary funds were forthcoming such an undertaking was quite practicable, and that Dr. Fischer, who had for seven years been physician-extraordinary to the Sultan Saïd-Bargash, and was an experienced traveller, would be prepared to take it in charge.

The offer was accepted; and in August, Dr. Fischer, at the head of a large caravan, took his departure from the coast.

Simultaneously with this, another expedition was being organised on the Lower Congo, which was to be under the command of Dr. Oscar Lenz, an Austrian, who was well known as an African traveller. It was settled that he should endeavour to reach Wadelai by way of the Upper Congo.

Both these expeditions were failures. Dr. Fischer found it impossible for any advance to be made beyond Lake Victoria; and Dr. Lenz, having been conveyed as far as the Victoria Falls by a steamer belonging to the Congo State, was unable to collect a caravan that would venture into the unknown lands to the north-east: he was obliged, therefore, to continue his journey to the south, proceeding by Nyangwe and Lake Tanganyika.

Meanwhile a letter was received from Mr. Mackay, the English missionary in Uganda, stating that he had heard that Dr. Junker, after many difficulties, had arrived in the Unyoro country, and was only awaiting his opportunity to pass through Mwanga’s territory and proceed homewards.

Another year of suspense followed, during which great anxiety prevailed; but at length tidings came from Zanzibar announcing that, safe and sound, Junker had made his way to the mission-station at Msalala. Great was the feeling of relief; and the general sympathy was stirred afresh when, a month later, letters were received from the traveller himself.

The civilised world was not indifferent to the appeal now made on behalf of the remaining prisoners of the Soudan. A general movement was felt. Dr. Schweinfurth took the lead in Egypt; Dr. Felkin, formerly medical officer to the Uganda mission, agitated the cause in England; in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium the public press and the scientific journals alike called attention to the critical situation of the surviving representatives of Europe in the district of the Upper Nile.

To the Geographical Society of Edinburgh belongs the honour of taking the initiative in reducing sympathy to practice. At a meeting, held on the 23rd of November 1886, the following resolutions were proposed and unanimously adopted:--

“That in consideration of his many services during twelve years in Central Africa, rendered not only to geography, but to science in general, and in recognition of his own personal endurance and of the assistance he has uniformly given to explorers, the Council of this Society deems that Emin Bey well deserves the support of the British Government.

“That the Council does not advocate any military expedition being sent to his relief, but believes that one of a pacific character might most advantageously be undertaken by the British Government.

“That it seems certain, in the judgment of the Council, that an expedition of this nature, traversing regions hitherto unexplored, would contribute materially to a further geographical knowledge of the interior of Africa.”

A copy of these resolutions was forwarded to London, to Lord Iddesleigh, then Foreign Secretary.

Henceforth, the voice of the public did not let the matter rest. The question was no longer whether an expedition should be sent, but what route the expedition should take.

Three routes, all starting from Zanzibar, were suggested.

First of all, there was that proposed by Mr. Joseph Thomson, the Scotch explorer, who offered his own services as conductor. This route followed the direction which he had himself taken when he had gone to the Masai country; on that occasion he had started from Mombasa on the coast, and passed through Taveta, Ngongo and Njemps, reaching the eastern shore of Lake Victoria near Ukala. The journey had occupied nine months. He now anticipated that he could accomplish it in three months, or perhaps four, apparently forgetting how he had himself been unable to make any advance, and ignoring the fact that Dr. Fischer, still more recently, had been foiled in his efforts to penetrate into the countries populated by warlike and hostile tribes.

A second scheme was advocated by Dr. Felkin. Anxious to keep clear of all complications with the relentless King of Uganda, he recommended that a long detour beyond Lake Victoria should be made in the Mutaa Nzigé basin. It was a route that would necessitate the passage of the caravan through regions absolutely unknown, and would bring it into contact with a dense population that had obstructed Stanley’s progress in 1877. It was not only very long but very hazardous, and the voice of prudence might well ask whether it was desirable to risk so much where all was so uncertain.

Then, thirdly, there arose involuntarily the thought of Stanley. Was not he the right, if not the only man, for such an undertaking? The traveller, undaunted and renowned, who had found Livingstone in 1870, who had crossed Africa from shore to shore, and discovered the Congo in 1878, who had formed the independent state upon the Congo banks in 1884, was not this the leader whose services they should seek? Were not his experience, his energy, his reputation amongst the native tribes the surest guarantees upon which to rely?

Meanwhile it had transpired that Stanley himself was ready to co-operate with the organising committee; he would even undertake the conduct of an expedition. The route he would recommend would be that which he had taken in 1876; the journey from Zanzibar to Lake Victoria was known, by frequent repetition, to be practicable; beyond the Lake he would run the risk of dealing with Mwanga: he would endeavour to enter into negotiations with him; he was sanguine that he could induce him to renew his amicable relations with the white man, and thus having overcome the obstacles, and having obtained permission to pass through Uganda, he should go to Unyoro and Lake Albert, and thence proceed to Wadelaï by water.

Of the three routes thus suggested, the last seemed to have most to commend it to approval. It was certainly the best known and the most direct; yet it was not to be overlooked that it had the decided disadvantage of having to be accomplished almost entirely on foot. Supposing the expedition to consist of 1000 men, how many, it must be asked, would hold out, even so far as Lake Victoria? Before arriving at the place of embarkation they would have to tramp more than 700 miles, under a burning equatorial sun, every one carrying a burden of over seventy pounds. How many would desert? how many would succumb to fatigue, and die? how many would be struck down with fever, and become an encumbrance to the rest?

Arrived at the Lake, it had further to be considered whether it were by any means certain that boats enough could be secured to convey the hundreds of men, with all the baggage, across.

But the Lake, after all, was only half way, and it was _beyond_ the Lake that the chief difficulties were to be apprehended. Who could foretell what dangers would be awaiting the caravan in Uganda? At the first symptom of hostility the porters would be seized with panic; and what was to hinder them from deserting _en masse_? The way from Zanzibar by which they had come would be open, and what could prevent them from making their way back if they chose?

All these considerations had to be weighed.

It was while the matter was under debate, that the writer of the present volume published an article in “Le Mouvement Géographique” of December 6, in which he proposed the route by way of the Congo and Aruwimi.

The substance of the article was to the following effect:--“Is there no other route besides those which have been already proposed? Why not the Congo? Not the Congo with its wide deviation to the south, by Nyangwé, as followed by Dr. Lenz; but _the Congo as far as and along the course of the Aruwimi_.

“From Banana to Matadi the passage by steamer takes only thirteen hours. The journey on foot to Leopoldville would require from fifteen to twenty days. Recently the steamer “Stanley” has occupied only twenty-seven days in ascending the Congo from Stanley Pool to the Aruwimi, and when Stanley was exploring the river he got up to Yambuya in two days more.

“Supposing then that the proper appliances and that the necessary porters can be secured, and that no unforeseen hindrances shall arise to prevent a continuous advance, it may be reckoned that in thirty-five to forty days, or, to take the utmost limit, in two months, an expedition might well accomplish the distance between Banana and Yambuya, which is just below the Aruwimi Falls. It would, moreover, involve no excessive exertion, as so large a proportion of the journey would be by water.

“True indeed it is that this point lies on the threshold of the unknown; yet, after all, this ‘unknown’ may be held to be less alarming than the districts of Unyoro and Uganda, which are only too ‘well known.’ Upon the Aruwimi both Stanley and Grenfell fell in with peaceable tribes, and what merits consideration is, that the unexplored tract only extends to Sanga, at a distance of little over 130 miles. Sanga itself is the residence of a Monbuttoo chief who gave Junker a hospitable reception; while the district to the east has been explored, not only by him, but likewise by Casati, and in some degree by Emin Bey. All these three would no doubt be remembered by the inhabitants, whose intentions may still be reckoned to be friendly, so that in all probability the caravan would be well received, and readily supplied both with provisions and guides.

“As to the question of time, it seems to us hardly to admit a doubt that Wadelaï would be much more quickly reached by the Congo and Aruwimi than by any other route from the east coast. In short, it may be maintained that by the way which is here proposed, it would be possible to arrive at the quarters of Emin Bey _in five months_.”

It had especially to be taken into account how comparatively easy the advance would be made by the fact of 900 miles on the upper river being by water. It was likewise an ascertained fact that food was abundant in the district, and these two facts combined demonstrated that the caravan would enter the unknown region with the men in robust health, not worn out by any previous fatigue; whilst at the same time they would have no way open by which they could be tempted to desert.

In England at first the opposition to the Congo route was very great. Every one seemed to have a preference for the eastern, or what was called “the Zanzibar route.” The matter remained undecided--the Government took no step--but meanwhile private enterprise was on the alert, and active measures were being pushed forward. The wealthy Scotch philanthropist, Mr. Mackinnon, director of the British India Steam Navigation Company, was made chairman of the organising committee, and with his usual munificence, subscribed £10,000 towards an expedition. Sir Francis de Winton, formerly administrator-general of the Congo State, took the office of secretary; the Egyptian Government pledged itself to give financial support; the King of the Belgians gave the committee the warmest assurances of his sympathy, and placed at its disposal, if the Congo route should be adopted, a portion of the Upper Congo flotilla; and to crown the whole, Stanley volunteered his personal services, which of course were immediately accepted.

At that time Stanley was in America. Ever indefatigable in his vocation of advancing the cause of Africa, he was holding a series of meetings in the large towns of the United States, but he was no sooner apprised of the formation of the relief-expedition than he hurried back to London, where he arrived on the 27th of December, and from whence he proceeded on the 30th to Brussels.

Matters now advanced apace; decisions were promptly made and orders were definitely given. Communications passed rapidly between London, Brussels, Cairo, Zanzibar and the Congo. Egypt was requested to furnish a company of Soudanese soldiers, and Sir John Kirk, the British Consul at Zanzibar, was instructed to engage several hundred soldiers and porters. The Congo route had been deliberately and finally chosen. Mr. Mackinnon sent orders to Bombay that one of his company’s steamers should be at Zanzibar in readiness to convey the expedition to the mouth of the Congo; and Stanley lost no time in making up his staff of European coadjutors, returning once more to Brussels to take his leave of King Leopold.

On the 20th of January 1887, the main body of the staff left London by the _Navarino_; it consisted of Major Barttelot of the 7th Fusileers, one of the bravest officers in the Soudan campaign; Captain Stairs of the Royal Artillery; Captain Nelson of the Volunteers; Lieutenant Jephson; Surgeon-Major Parke; Mr. Jameson the naturalist; Mr. Bonney and Mr. Ward. They carried with them a large cargo of provisions and a complete supply of ammunition, one of the specialities being a mitrailleuse worked on a novel plan, designed by Maxim the engineer, a murderous weapon capable of firing six hundred shots a minute, and which might prove an effective means of defence if any hostile attack were made upon them. Lastly, there was a steel-plated whale-boat to be navigated by either oars or sails, made in twelve sections, so as to admit of being carried by hand, and designed to facilitate the river passage and ultimately to be launched upon Lake Albert.

In addition to the eight members of the staff who started for Zanzibar there were two others, Mr. Ingham, and Mr. Troup, a former agent of the Free State, who embarked at Liverpool direct for the Congo, and were commissioned to engage 1500 natives to act as porters in transporting all the baggage along the line of the falls, from Matadi to Stanley Pool.

Stanley himself left London for Egypt _viâ_ Brindisi, on the 21st. By this route he gained several days’ advance upon the _Navarino_, and spent the interval in Cairo, in consultation with Dr. Schweinfurth and Dr. Junker, who had arrived there a fortnight previously.

It has been asserted that at this date there was an entire lack of agreement between the three travellers about the proper route to be taken; it has moreover been stated that the Egyptian Government so far adopted Dr. Junker’s views, that the Zanzibar route ought to be followed, as to threaten to withdraw its support in case any other route were chosen. Such representations are by no means fair. It is true that at first Dr. Schweinfurth expressed some degree of preference for the Zanzibar route, but very soon, like Dr. Junker, he acceded to the choice of the Congo route; while as to the Egyptian Government there was not the least foundation for what was said; it gave its financial support to the undertaking entirely unconditionally, and engaged, moreover, to provide the Soudanese soldiers for which it was asked.

On the 6th of February, Stanley left Cairo for Suez, and on the 22nd he reached Zanzibar, where he learned that the steamer _Madura_, which was to convey him to the mouth of the Congo, had arrived the day before.

An incident occurred during his brief stay at Zanzibar, which, when known in Europe, created no slight sensation. This was the engagement of Tippoo Tib as an agent of the Congo Free State.

Tippoo Tib is the wealthy Arab trader whom Livingstone and Cameron found settled at Nyangwé on the Lualaba, and who some years later accompanied Stanley through part of his descent of the Congo. Dr. Lenz and Lieutenant Gleerup during their travels visited his depôts on the Lualaba and the Manyema; the Belgian Lieutenant Becker and the Swedish Lieutenant Webster both transacted business with him, and Dr. Junker, as has been mentioned, completed his journey from Tabora to Zanzibar under his escort. Every one of these travellers gives uniform high praise to his intelligence, his trustworthiness, and the courtesy of his manners.

His real name is Hamed-ben-Mohammed, Tippoo Tib being a nickname given him on account of a peculiar movement of his eyes.

Lieutenant Becker has written the following description of him: “The son of a Zanzibar Arab and a Mrima woman, Tippoo Tib has resided for ten years in the Manyema district, where he enjoys an unbounded popularity, not only in his own, but in the adjoining districts, where he is known as a man who would heartily disapprove of any unneighbourly acts.

[Illustration: TIPPOO TIB.

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

“From his immense plantations, cultivated by thousands of slaves, all blindly devoted to their master, and from his ivory-trade, of which he has the monopoly, he has in his duplex character of conqueror and trader, succeeded in creating for himself in the heart of Africa a veritable empire, in which, though he is nominally a vassal of the Sultan Saïd-Bargash, his authority is supreme.

“Though not of pure Arab blood, the Arab characteristic seems so far predominant in him as to dispose him instinctively to the exercise of patriarchal virtues. His self-command, his indomitable courage, his capacity for business, his far-sightedness, his rapid power of decision, his unfailing success, and a certain chivalrous attractiveness of manner, combine to make him, like Mirambo, a kind of hero, celebrated by all the rhapsodists of Oriental Africa.”

Apparently Tippoo Tib is about forty-five years of age; he has short grisly hair and beard; he converses with much vivacity, his utterance being concise, energetic, and decisive. Only let the subject of ivory be introduced, and at once he is animated, and his eyes gleam with excitement; he becomes like one of the old Californian gold-diggers, who glowed with ecstasy when they told of their work, their findings, and their hopes. Ivory, in fact, may be said to be his absorbing thought. To this he owes all his wealth, and consequently his power, which, according to Wissman, who is acquainted with his territory, is much greater than is generally known. Owner as he is of numerous caravans of armed slaves, which he places under the command of his subordinates, he has cultivated large tracts of country, and in the course of time has established several very important agricultural settlements. It has been insinuated in certain quarters that his vast riches have not all been accumulated from irreproachable sources, and that a full statement of his mercantile transactions would show a somewhat intimate connection between ivory-dealing and the slave traffic.

Be this, however, as it may, he is held in high repute by the natives, by travellers, and by the Europeans on the coast, and this reputation has been acquired by his extraordinary administrative faculty, by his prominent position amongst his fellow-traders and co-religionists, by his hospitality, and most of all, by his steadfastness to his word. Already an important character in eastern and central Africa, recent events have made him a historical personage.

In January 1885, when Captain Van Gèle, as agent of the Congo Association, arrived at Stanley Falls, he found that Tippoo Tib was established in the neighbourhood. He made a point of seeing him, and received from him the most satisfactory assurances of his peaceful intentions towards the white settlers, and his great desire to enter into amicable relations with them. It turned out, however, that eighteen months afterwards, the station, which was guarded only by a couple of Europeans and a few black soldiers, was attacked by Arabs, and deserted by its little garrison. It was true that the affair had taken place while Tippoo Tib was absent, and as subsequent inquiries showed, it was to be attributed, not so much to any positive hostility on the part of the Arabs, as to the incapability of the controller of the station, Mr. Deane, an Englishman. Yet it could not do otherwise than create considerable uneasiness in the Congo State, which was only then in process of formation.

And now, in 1887, having learned that both Tippoo Tib and Stanley were at Zanzibar together, the Congo Government took advantage of the circumstance to seek an explanation as to how it had come to pass that the station at the Falls had been assailed. In reply to Stanley’s inquiry, Tippoo Tib renewed his assurances of his recognition of the Congo State, expressed his deep regret for what had happened, and declared that the assault had been made both during his absence and without his sanction.

The Congo Government had a further design. Considering that in a country so hard of access for European troops, it would be good policy to secure the aid of Arab hands towards suppressing raids and checking the slave traffic, and, moreover, reckoning that it would be for the interests of civilisation if a recognised system of trade and agriculture could be established, they instructed Stanley to sound the Arab merchant as to whether he would be disposed to take office in the service of the Free State itself.

Accordingly, on the 23rd of February an interview took place, as the result of which Tippoo Tib was definitely appointed Commissioner of the district of the Falls. By the covenants of the agreement he undertook to uphold the authority of the Free State along the upper river and its affluents, both at the station and lower down at the confluence of the Aruwimi, specified as the limit of his district; and to oppose the native chiefs and Arab traders, restraining them in all their raids and slave-traffic.

Criticism, keen and adverse, was awakened by the measure. Just as it had been when Gordon proposed to enlist the co-operation of Zebehr for the pacification of the Soudan, so now the idea of applying to an Arab trader for assistance in suppressing the slave-trade seemed unreasonable, if not preposterous. No doubt the circumstances were perplexing. It is an experiment; but Tippoo Tib’s position is exceptional. Unlooked-for results may follow. The future alone can determine whether the policy is right or wrong. The compact with Tippoo Tib has been based solely upon his high repute for fidelity, gained amongst the most renowned and most discriminating of African explorers.

One thing which was immediately involved by this compact with Tippoo Tib was his co-operation with the relief-expedition now about to start. Accordingly it was arranged that he should accompany Stanley to the west coast and up the Congo, as far as the Falls station, there providing him with the 600 porters that would be required to bring the ivory back from Wadelaï.

At this date Stanley wrote: “When I was in Cairo Dr. Junker told me that Emin Bey has in his possession about seventy tons of ivory. At eight shillings a pound this would be worth more than £60,000. Not only would this cover all the expenses of our expedition, but would make it a financial success. Why not bring the ivory to the Congo? It would require nothing more than an adequate supply of porters; and this consideration has determined me to negotiate with Tippoo Tib, who has contracted to provide me with 600 men, at the rate of £6 each for a journey from the Falls station to Lake Albert and back. As every porter carries a load of 70 lbs. we may reckon that each journey would bring a net value of £12,000 to the Falls.”

On his arrival at Zanzibar, Stanley found that everything had been admirably arranged by Mr. Mackenzie, the agent of the British India Steam Navigation Company, who had the co-operation of the English Consul. Provisions and merchandise had been already embarked, and the auxiliaries had been gathered together, so that Stanley had only at once to go on board. During the time that Stanley was negotiating his contract with Tippoo Tib, Mr. Mackenzie was paying four months’ wages in advance to the 623 Zanzibaris who had been hired for the expedition; they were paid in detachments of fifty at a time, and forthwith sent in a barge to the _Madura_.

Thus far, including the nine Europeans, sixty-three Soudanese, and fourteen Somalis, the expedition consisted of 709 men, who were divided into seven companies; to these had now to be added Tippoo Tib with his suite of ninety, comprising both sexes, making an aggregate of just 800.

The _Madura_ left Zanzibar on the 24th of February; on the 9th of March she passed the Cape; and on the 18th cast anchor in Banana Creek, at the mouth of the Congo.