INTRODUCTION 



native should be taught to become a useful industrial 

 worker, to till the soil and to absorb such education as 

 will assist him to become a real asset to the country 

 wherein he lives. This is far more important for his own 

 welfare than learning to wear European clothes, chant 

 hymns, and write essays, such as we often see executed 

 by the finished " article." 



The Belgians treat their natives like vermin ; the 

 British official, on the other hand, makes fools of them. 



With regard to the reported atrocities in the Congo, 

 I regret that as I have not come into contact with the 

 Belgian authorities on many occasions, I have not been 

 able to study this matter as I would like to have done. 

 One thing struck me, however, and that was the very 

 sparse population in the country where we travelled, 

 and from accounts obtained from various village headmen 

 I understand that sleeping-sickness, small-pox, and other 

 diseases are not alone accountable for this state of affairs, 

 and judging by accounts given me by men who had 

 penetrated through the far west and south-west of the 

 Luele district, and had reached the Nile close by Soudanese 

 territory, I should say the administration of the Belgians 

 is terribly unjust and cruel. 



I was told of one European who thought he had struck 

 a brilliant idea when in search for elephants minus a 

 passport. He entered the Congo and succeeded in travel- 

 ling for many days in the guise of a photographer with a 

 stand camera. His scheme was short-lived, however, for 

 the authorities came across him and took greater exception 

 to the camera than to his guns. Of course the camera 

 faithfully portrays occurrences, the revelation of which 

 might be unpleasant to those responsible for certain 

 little incidents in the administration of the country ! 



That the Belgians are hated and feared I had proof 

 in abundance, for often when within hailing distance of 

 a village, the people, on seeing our white faces approaching 



ix 



