THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 403 



ORGANIZING TOR THE JOURNEY. 



STANLEY was well received by the American consul at Zanzibar, 

 who gave him a room in his own house and seemed to take delight 

 in ministering to his needs. He had engaged one man, Wm. L. 

 Farquhar, on the barque Polly, to accompany him into Africa, 

 but, with this single exception, he had to enlist his force at 

 Zanzibar. John Shaw, an Englishman, was found adrift in this 

 Arabian port, and, upon his application, was enlisted at a salary of 

 $300 per annum. It was desirable, however, to secure and equip 

 an escort of twenty free blacks for the road. There were scores 

 of such fellows offering, but they were very unreliable, and it 

 was with no little pleasure that Stanley heard of several of 

 Speke's "faithfuls'' who would be glad to go upon another 

 expedition. Five of these men were soon found and engaged at 

 $40 each per annum, and a few days later Bombay, who was 

 Speke's head man, came to Zanzibar, and he, too, was enlisted 

 and made captain of the black escort. Bombay succeeded in 

 getting eighteen more free men to volunteer as "askari" (sol- 

 diers), men whom he knew would not desert and for whom he 

 declared himself responsible. Their wages were set down at $36 

 each per annum. Each soldier was provided with a flint-lock 

 musket, powder-horn, bullet-pouch, knife, and hatchet, besides 

 enough powder and ball for two hundred rounds. Bombay, in 

 consideration of his rank and previous faithful services to Burton, 

 Speke and Grant, was engaged at $80 a year, half that sum in 

 advance, and a good muzzle-loading rifle, a pistol, a knife, and 

 a hatchet were given him. 



Two boats were purchased from the American consul, for 

 $120, one of which would carry twelve men and the other half 

 as many. These boats were stripped of their boards and tarred 

 canvas substituted, as a much lighter material and less liable to 

 leakage or rupture. These boats were intended for crossing 

 streams and navigating rivers and lakes. Twenty donkeys were 

 purchased, and a cart was constructed, eighteen inches wide and 

 five feet long, to carry the narrow .ammunition boxes along the 

 goat paths. 



