In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin, Governor of EquatoriaStanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
History
In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria
Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Emin Pasha, 1840-1892
Our second object in coming here was to receive such at our camp as
were disposed to leave Africa, and conduct them home by the nearest
and safest route. If there are none disposed to leave Africa our
Expedition has no further business in these regions, and will at
once retire. Try and understand what all this means. Try and see
the utter and final abandonment of all further relief, and the
bitter end and fate of those obstinate and misguided people who
decline assistance when tendered to them. From the 1st May, 1888,
to January 1889, are nine months--so long a time to consider a
simple proposition of leaving Africa or staying here!
Therefore, in this official and formal letter accompanying this
explanatory note to you, I designate Kavalli’s village as the
rendezvous where I am willing to receive those who are desirous of
leaving Africa, subject, of course, to any new light thrown upon
the complication by a personal interview or a second letter from
you.
And now I address myself to you personally. If you consider
yourself still a member of the Expedition subject to my orders,
then, upon receipt of this letter, you will at once leave for
Kavalli’s with such of my men--Binza and the Soudanese--as are
willing to obey you, and bring to me the final decision of Emin
Pasha and Signor Casati respecting their personal intentions. If I
am not at Kavalli’s then, stay there, and send word by letter by
means of Kavalli’s messengers to Mpinga, Chief of Gavira, who will
transmit the same to Mazamboni’s, when probably I shall receive it.
You will understand that it will be a severe strain on Kavalli’s
resources to maintain us with provisions longer than six days, and
if you are longer than this period we must retire to Mazamboni’s,
and finally to our camp on the Ituri Ferry. Otherwise we must seize
provisions by force, and any act of violence would cut off and
close native communication. This difficulty might have been avoided
had the Pasha followed my suggestion of making a depôt at
Nyamsassi. The fact that there are provisions at Mswa does not help
us at all. There are provisions in Europe also. But unfortunately
they are as inaccessible as those of Mswa. We have no boat now to
communicate by lake, and you do not mention what has become of the
steamers, the _Khedive_ and _Nyanza_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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