CHAPTER XXXVIII 
Stanley’s Great Congo Expedition 
S TANLEY returned to Europe, but not, as he had anticipated, to 
his well-earned rest. On arriving at Marseilles, in his journey 
across Europe, he was met by representatives of Leopold II, 
King of the Belgians, who informed him that their sovereign contem¬ 
plated some great undertaking in Africa, and that he looked to Stanley 
for assistance in prosecuting it with success. 
This was in January, 1878, but it was not till the end of the year 
that the project took final shape and Stanley prepared to revisit Africa. 
In the meanwhile he was occupied by lecturing to great audiences, by 
a voluminous correspondence, and a careful study of the details of the 
proposed expedition. In June he published the account of his journey 
across Africa under the title of “Across the Dark Continent.” The 
book had an immense sale, and gave an impetus to African projects 
which resulted in numerous undertakings. On the river Congo, lakes 
Victoria and Tanganyika, in West, East, and Central Africa, missions 
were established by several denominations; French, Portuguese, and 
German travelers set out to explore vast regions of the Continent; and 
there began a series of annexations by the European powers which 
have continued up to the present time. 
In November, 1878, at the palace of the Belgian King, an associa¬ 
tion was formed for the purpose of utilizing the vast basin of the Congo 
for the benefit of the vaster world, and developing its natural wealth 
simultaneously with civilizing its people. Representatives of most of 
the European States were among the prominent members of this novel 
company, and it finally received the title of “The International Associ¬ 
ation of the Congo.” To Stanley was offered the all-important post 
of chief of the expedition which was to initiate the work—an offer 
which recruited health and his characteristic enterprise led him to 
accept with hearty promptness. 
The exact nature of the work before him may be considered under 
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