The Eastern Congo 



This he accordingly did and after telHng his black dependants 

 that now, if any more pilfering went on, his watchful glass 

 eye would tell him who the culprit was, he left on his rounds 

 through the district. It is said that on his return not only 

 had nothing been taken from his house but no one had dared 

 venture near the place to sweep it, and the white ants were 

 thoroughly enjoying an undisturbed feed on his best boots. 

 This was a truly African ending to such an experiment, 

 for, at the end, Africa holds the last card ! 



The official in charge of Mbeni being such a busy man it 

 was not to be expected that the place would present a very 

 smart and well-kept appearance ; we were, however, made 

 very comfortable there in the best house in the place and 

 all our wants quickly attended to in the most kindly manner. 

 The post of Mbeni having been established thirty years ago, 

 has a history reaching back into the days of the Arab slavers 

 when a man carried his life in his hand. 



Here are buried the remains of Lieutenant Demanie, 

 after the cannibal Bahuni had picked his bones. The tale 

 goes that in the early days, he, together with sixty askaris, 

 made a reconnaissance to the south of Mbeni and were 

 camped for the night on a small river on the outskirts of the 

 hostile country. It is said that a good deal of native beer 

 had been drunk by the native soldiers ; however, be that 

 as it may, they were set upon by a horde of savages in the 

 early hours of the morning and were speared as they lay, 

 only one man escaping to tell the tale. After the slaughter 

 a cannibal orgy must have taken place, for parts of the 

 bodies had been cut up and removed, and amongst the 

 remains were found all that was left to bury of Lieutenant 

 Demanie. Sad to relate this officer's death has never been 



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