286 STANLEY AND THE MAP OF AFRICA. 



the chief actors iu this strange drama were together again; and Mr. 

 Stanley's account of Emin's unstable purpose, the long arguments 

 with the Pasha to persuade him to come to a decision ; the ingratitude 

 and treachery of the Egyptians, the gathering of the people and their 

 burdensome goods and chattels preparatory to quitting the lake- these 

 and many other details are fresh in our memories from Stanley's own 

 letters. But the main purpose of the expedition was accomplisbed, at 

 however terrible a cost, and however disappointing it was to find that 

 after all Emin was reluctant to be " rescued." When the start was 

 made from Kavalli's on April 10 last, 1,500 people in all were mustered* 

 An almost mortal illness laid Stanley low for a month shortly after the 

 start, and it was May 8 before the huge caravan was fairly under way. 

 Some fighting had to be done with raiders from Unyoro, but on the 

 whole the homeward march was comparatively free from trouble, and 

 full of interest; and on December 6 Mr. Stanley once more entered 

 Zanzibar, which he had left 2 years and 10 months before. Such briefly 

 are some of the incidents of the rescue expedition ; let us now as briefly 

 sum up the geographical results. 



When Stanley left for Africa, in January, 1S87, there remained one 

 of the great problems of African hydrography still unsolved — what is 

 known as the problem of the Welle. Schweinfurth and Junker had 

 come upon a river at some points which seemed to rise in the neighbor- 

 hood of the Albert Nyauza, and appeared to flow in a northwest direc- 

 tion. The favorite theory at the time was that the river Welle was 

 really the upper course of the Shari, which runs into Lake Chad far 

 away to the northwest. But as the Congo and its great feeders on the 

 north, and the lie of the land in that direction, became known, it began 

 to be conjectured that after all the Welle might send its waters to swell 

 the mighty volume of the great river. Stanley, I know, hoped that, 

 among other geographical work, he might be able to throw some light 

 on the course of this i)uzzling river. But, as we see now, the cares and 

 troubles that fell upon him j)revented him going much out of the way to 

 do geographical work. While, however, Stanley was cleaving his way 

 through the tangled forest. Lieutenant Van Gele, one of the Free State 

 ofticers, proved conclusively that the Welle was really the upper course 

 of the Mobangi, one of the largest northern tributaries of the Congo. 

 But another kindred problem Stanley was able to solve. Before his 

 journey the mouth of the river Aruwimi was known ; the great naval 

 battle which he fought there on his first descent of the river is one of 

 the most striking of the many striking pictures in the narrative of that 

 famous journey. But beyond Yambuya its course was a blank. The 

 river, under various names, " Ituri " being the best known, led him 

 almost to the brink of the Albert i^yanza. One of its upper contribu- 

 tories is only 10 minutes' walk from the brink of the escarpment that 

 looks down upon the lake. With many rapids, it is for a great part of 

 its course over 500 yards wide, with groups of islands here and there. 



