THE CONGO FREE STATE 273 



we came to on the Uganda side of the boundary, we 

 found that it was commonly reported that the whole 

 Expedition had been massacred by the natives on 

 the west side of Ruwenzori, with the exception of 

 two of the Europeans (Carruthers and myself, I 

 suppose), who had fled with ten porters up into the 

 mountains. Belief in the rumour was so well estab- 

 lished that our porters were welcomed as though 

 they had returned from the grave. 



On another occasion, when we were staying for a 

 day or two in a small Congo post, tenanted by one 

 Belgian officer, the cook and the ' boy ' of our host 

 absconded with half a sheep. Our own * boys ' 

 (Waganda) informed us, with every appearance of 

 telling the truth, that they had run away because 

 the Belgian had put the finishing touch to his usual 

 ill-treatment of them by slitting their ears with a long 

 knife. On the following day, however, the truants 

 returned with ears intact, but crying out for medicine 

 for their stomachs, which were grievously disordered 

 by a surfeit of mutton. 



It would be easy to multiply such cases indefinitely, 

 but I think enough has been said to show how 

 careful one must be in examining native testimony. 



In travelling from one side to the other of the 

 Congo Free State, I had exceptional opportunities 

 for observing the relations which exist between the 

 natives and the agents of the State, both when 

 travelling by land or water, and in the posts of the 

 State, where we unavoidably spent more time than 



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