348 
STANLEY'S JOURNEY THROUGH AFRICA 
villages betokened the presence of plenty. But Stanley kept his force 
together with the greatest difficulty, for the people of Manyema, the 
country through which they were passing, were reported to he can¬ 
nibals, and the feelings of the Wangwana were thereby considerably 
exercised. Though Stanley had distributed £350 in presents to the. 
people before leaving Ujiji—as a “refresher” to their drooping spirits 
—yet many desertions took place, and for a time the expedition was 
in a high state of demoralization. Nothing but firm treatment suf¬ 
ficed at such a crisis as this, and it was fortunate for Stanley that his 
indomitable character enabled him to grapple with' the spirit of mutiny 
in a masterful way. 
For more than two hundred miles the route lay along the valley 
of the Luama—a tributary of the Lualaba—and, at its confluence with 
the great river upon which Livingstone had spent so much time, 
thought and labor, Stanley realized that at last he was face to face 
with a simple problem—he was to follow the river to the ocean, and 
prove or disprove once and forever its identity with the Nile. He was 
to follow it into countries of which even the natives could give no 
account, deal with peoples whose very name was unknown, and finally 
trace it to an end no man could indicate. 
At Mwana Mamba he met the Arab with whom he was to be 
afterwards—on this and other expeditions—so closely connected, 
Hamed Bin Mohammed, alias Tippu Tib, a man of remarkable char¬ 
acter and’ of the greatest influence over the Arabs of that region. 
The most terrible tales were told by the Arabs of the savages 
dwelling on the banks of the Lualaba. Dwarfs who shot with poisoned 
arrows, cannibals who regarded the stranger as so much meat, bar¬ 
barians who wore no clothing and killed all men they met—these 
were some of the people to be met on the river, which in itself pre¬ 
sented great difficulties. There were many falls and many rocks; and 
the river flowed northward for ever and knew no end. In the face of 
such testimony from men who had traveled for some distance down 
the river, Stanley’s intention never swerved; he was determined to 
follow the Lualaba to the sea. 
To help him attain this end, and to inspire his trembling followers 
with courage, Stanley engaged the services of Tippu Tib, who, in 
