460 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
and tlie crew, unable to turn lier round sufficiently soon 
to escape, precipitated themselves into the river and 
swam to their friends, while we made ourselves masters 
of the Great Eastern of the Living-stone. We soon ex- 
changed two of our smaller canoes and manned the 
monster with thirty men, and resumed our journey in 
line, the boat in front acting as a guide. This early 
disaster to the Mwana Ntaba caused them to hurry 
down river, blowing their horns, and alarming with 
their drums both shores of the river, until about forty 
canoes were seen furiously dashing down stream, no 
doubt bent on mischief. 
At 4 p.m. we came opposite a river about 200 yards 
wide, which I have called the Leopold River, in honour 
of his Majesty Leopold II., King of the Belgians, and 
which the natives called either the Kankora, Mikonju, 
or Munduku. Perhaps the natives were misleading me, 
or perhaps they really possessed a superfluity of names, 
but I think that whatever name they give it should be 
mentioned in connection with each stream. 
Soon after passing by the confluence, the Livingstone, 
Avhich above had been 2500 yards wide, perceptibly 
contracted, and turned sharply to the east-north-east, 
because of a hill which rose on the left bank about 300 
feet above the river. Close to the elbow of the bend on 
the right bank we passed by some white granite rocks, 
from one to six feet above the water, and just below 
these we heard the rt>ar of the First Cataract of the 
Stanley Falls series. 
But louder than the noise of the falls rose the piercing 
yells of the savage Mwana Ntaba from both sides of the 
great river. We now found ourselves confronted by the 
inevitable necessity of putting into practice the resolu- 
tion which we had formed before setting out on the 
wild voyage — to conquer or die. What should we do ? 
Shall we turn and face the fierce cannibals, wdio with 
hideous noise drown the solemn roar of the cataract, or 
shall we cry out “ Mambu Kwa Mungu ” — “ Our fate is 
in the hands of God — and risk the cataract with its 
terrors ! 
