CHAPTER XXXVII 



Stanley's Journey Through Africa 



THE death of Livingstone, the faithfulness of his African ser- 

 vants in carrying his mortal remains across hundreds of miles 

 of the savage interior to the sea-coast, and the subsequent 

 solemn interment at Westminster Abbey, roused public interest in 

 Africa and its still undiscovered regions to the pitch of fever heat. 

 Never had such an outburst of missionary zeal been known, never did 

 the cause of geographical exploration receive such an impetus. Small 

 wonder was it that Stanley, who helped to carry the remains of David 

 Livingstone to their last resting place, registered a vow to unravel the 

 mysteries of the Lualaba River, and clear up the doubts which existed 

 as to the number, position, and extent of the great lakes ; small wonder 

 was it that those who should bear the expense of an undertaking of 

 such magnitude came forward without delay. 



Stanley had meanwhile accompanied the British arms into Ash- 

 anti, a country on the gold coast of western Africa, and served the 

 New York Herald with signal efficiency as war correspondent in the 

 defeat of the King, Coffee Calcali, and the capture of his capital city, 

 Coomassie. He was now ready to renew his explorations of central 

 Africa. 



As with the first, so with his second expedition into Africa, news- 

 paper enterprise and munificence supplied the "sinews of war," the 

 indispensable financial support. At the invitation of the proprietors of 

 the Daily Telegraph, Mr. Bennett of the New York Herald consented 

 to share with the great English "Daily" the expenses of an expedition 

 into Central Africa. Stanley was to be in command, and his com^ 

 mission was sufficiently ample for a man of even his calibre. He was 

 to clear up all uncertainties about the lake region, to follow the course 

 of Livingstone's Lualaba wheresoever it might lead, and to investigate 

 the slave trade, tracing its sphere and influence throughout Central 

 Africa. He was moreover to represent the two great English-speak- 



