Stanley's Adventures in the Wilds of Africa: A Graphic Account of the Several Expeditions of Henry M. Stanley into the Heart of the Dark ContinentHeadley, Joel Tyler
History
Stanley's Adventures in the Wilds of Africa: A Graphic Account of the Several Expeditions of Henry M. Stanley into the Heart of the Dark Continent
Headley, Joel Tyler
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904
"This extremity of Ugogo is most populous. The villages which surround
the central tembe, where the Sultan Swaruru lives, amount to thirty-six.
The people who flocked from these to see the wonderful men whose faces
were white who wore the most wonderful things on their persons, and
possessed the most wonderful weapons: guns which 'bum-bummed' as fast
as you could count on your fingers, formed such a mob of howling
savages, that I, for an instant, thought there was something besides
mere curiosity which caused such a commotion, and attracted such numbers
to the roadside. Halting, I asked what was the matter, and what they
wanted, and why they made such a noise? One burly rascal, taking my
words for a declaration of hostilities, promptly drew his bow, but as
prompt as he had fixed his arrow my faithful Winchester with thirteen
shots in the magazine was ready and at my shoulder, and but waited to
see the arrow fly to pour the leaden messengers of death into the crowd.
But the crowd vanished as quickly as they had come, leaving the burly
Thersites, and two or three irresolute fellows of his tribe, standing
within pistol range of my leveled rifle. Such a sudden dispersion of the
mob which, but a moment before, was overwhelming, caused me to lower my
rifle and indulge in a hearty laugh at the disgraceful flight of the
men-destroyers. The Arabs, who were as much alarmed at their boisterous
obtrusiveness, now came up to patch a truce, in which they succeeded to
everybody's satisfaction.
"A few words of explanation, and the mob came back in greater numbers
than before; and the Thersites who had been the cause of the momentary
disturbance were obliged to retire abashed before the pressure of public
opinion. A chief now came up, whom I afterwards learned was the second
man to Swaruru, and lectured the people upon their treatment of the
'white strangers.'"
The tribute-money was easily settled here. On the 7th of June, the route
was resumed. There were three roads leading to Uyanzi, and which of the
three to take caused long discussion and much quarreling, and when
Stanley settled the matter and the caravan started off on the road to
Kiti, an attempt was made to direct it to another road, which Stanley
soon discovered and prevented only by his prompt resort to physical
arguments.
At last they reached the borders of Uyanzi, glad to be clear of the land
of Ugogo, said to be flowing with milk and honey but which had proved to
Stanley a land of gall and bitterness. The forest they entered was a
welcome change from the villages of the Ugogo, and two hours after
leaving them they came, with the merry sound of horns, to a river in a
new district. Continuing on, they made the forest ring with cheers, and
shouts, and native songs. The country was beautiful, and the scenery
more like cultivated England in former times than barbaric Africa.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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