302 



GEOGRAPHICAL PROGRESS AND DISCOVERY. 



its mouth is a large island. It has a great vol- 

 ume of water, but numerous rapids, making 

 the navigation difficult. He was told by the 

 natives that there is a river to the southwest, 

 on the banks of which lives a colony of the cu- 

 rious dwarf race, or Akkas, called Balia by 

 the Ungoro people, but showing by their 

 speech that they are Betua. 



When Mr. Stanley announced his intention of 

 taking the Congo route to Emin's territory, the 

 plan was disapproved by both Junker and 

 Schweinfurth. They thought that at least 

 eighteen months would be required for the 

 journey ; and they recommended instead a 

 route from the Red Sea or from Zanzibar. 



Mr. Stanley convinced them that the land 

 journey by the Upper Congo would not ex- 

 ceed 400 miles, whereas from Zanzibar to Al- 

 bert Lake the distance would be 950 miles, 

 and the Masai route would be 925 miles. A 

 strong expedition was determined upon, the 

 cost being defrayed mainly by English contribu- 

 tors to the relief fund with a subsidy from the 

 Egyptian treasury. In Mr. Stanley's own 

 words : " The expedition is non-military that 

 is to say, its purpose is not to fight, destroy, or 

 waste ; its purpose is to save, to relieve dis- 

 tress, to carry comfort. Emm Pasha may be 

 a good man, a brave officer, a gallant fellow 

 deserving of a strong effort of relief ; but I de- 

 cline to believe, and I have not been able to 

 gather from any one in England, an impression 

 that his life, or the lives of the few hundreds 

 under him, would overbalance the lives of 

 thousands of natives and the devastation of 

 immense tracts of country which an expedi- 

 tion strictly military would naturally cause. 

 The expedition is a mere powerful caravan, 

 armed with rifles for the purpose of insuring 

 the safe conduct of the ammunition to Emin 

 Pasha and for the more certain protection of 

 this people during the retreat home; but it 

 also has means of purchasing the friendship of 

 tribes and chiefs, of buying food, and paying 

 its way liberally." 



On his arrival at Zanzibar Mr. Stanley found 

 that his agents had already recruited a force 

 of 600 men for the expedition, and that Tip- 

 poo-Tip, who had escorted his caravan in 1877 

 when the first descent of the Congo was made, 

 was waiting for him. Tippoo-Tip was the 

 Zobehr of the Upper Congo, commanding two 

 of the best roads from the river to "Wadelai. 

 lie agreed to supply 600 carriers at $30 a man, 

 and, as Emin was reported by Dr. Junker to 

 have 75 tons of ivory, the expenses of the ex- 

 pedition might be largely defrayed by the re- 

 turn of the Zanzibaris to the Congo with their 

 precious loads. Tippoo-Tip was also offered 

 the position of Governor at Stanley Falls at a 

 regular salary. He consented to accompany 

 Mr. Stanley on these terms. The steamer set 

 out on February 25 for the mouth of the Congo 

 with about 700 men of the expedition, reach- 

 ing its destination in four weeks. It was 

 then 1,266 miles from Aruwimi, whence it 



was to march 400 miles through an unknown 

 country to Emin's capital. It was as late as 

 April 26 before it could leave Leopoldville, 

 on Stanley Pool, and it was not until the sec- 

 ond week in June that the explorer himself 

 was at Aruwimi, much delay having been 

 caused by defective means of transportation. 

 A rear -guard was left at Yambouya, and 

 the advance column of five Europeans and 

 three hundred and eighty natives passed on to 

 the limit of navigation and began the overland 

 march. Few difficulties were encountered 

 apart from the natural obstacles presented by 

 such a country. Meantime, Tippoo-Tip had 

 gone to Stanley Falls to restore to the Congo 

 State the station which was seized by the 

 Arabs, and gather a company of his people to 

 accompany the expedition as carriers. The 

 steamer " Stanley," the largest on the Congo, 

 returned to Bolobo to carry to the Aruwimi 

 station the remaining men and supplies. 



By July 25 the advance expedition had as- 

 cended the river Aruwimi as far as an elevated 

 tract of country forming a portion of the Ma- 

 bodi district. Here the river became very nar- 

 row, being no longer navigable, and Mr. Stan- 

 ley was compelled for several days to have all 

 the provisions and munitions for the use of 

 the expedition, as well as those intended for 

 the revictualing of Emin Pasha's garrison, car- 

 ried on the men's backs. The quantity of rice 

 was so large that each man had to bear a double 

 burden. The rafts which had been employed 

 to convey the heavy baggage were left be- 

 hind, and only the steel whale-boat brought 

 from the camp at the foot of the Aruwimi 

 Rapids was carried past the narrows and again 

 launched in the river, Mr. Stanley greatly con- 

 gratulating himself that he had brought it, 

 owing to the amount of water which, accord- 

 ing to the inhabitants of that part of the coun- 

 try, the expedition would have to cross before 

 reaching the Albert Nyanza. Mr. Stanley cal- 

 culated that, once arrived at the summit of 

 the table-lands which shape the basin of the 

 Aruwimi, he would be able to halt for two 

 days in order to rest his men and establish a 

 fresh camp garrisoned like that at Yambouya 

 by twenty men and a European officer. The 

 population of the country through which Mr. 

 Stanley was then traveling was considerable, 

 but the people were much scattered. The dis- 

 trict was tranquil, the agitation prevalent in 

 the neighborhood of Stanley Falls not having 

 spread to that part of the country. 



At the beginning of August the expedition 

 was reported to be advancing without the am- 

 munition and stores designed for Emin. Pro- 

 visions were scarce, the officers and men un- 

 dergoing great privations, and suffering from 

 disease and hunger. Tippoo-Tip had failed to 

 send to Yambouya the 500 carriers who were 

 to convey the stores. This failure was not 

 due to treachery, since he was still at his post 

 and faithful to Mr. Stanley's interests. In 

 consequence of the disturbed state of the coun- 



