On the evening of the 12th we camped at Lukolela, and on the 14th arrived opposite Usindi, where we landed the son of Miyongo, who had come up from Nshassa with us, having been for some time previously employed by the Sanford Exploring Expedition. His father, Miyongo, one of the chiefs of Usindi, was the man rescued by Stanley from the wreck of his canoe below Lukolela, and restored to his village. Next morning, before we left, he came on board with a present of a sheep, eggs, and fowls, and then demanded about twenty times their value in cloth and other goods as a return present-such is the nature of these "blameless Ethiopians." Having at length, if not satisfied, at least convinced him that we were not to be bled any further, he took to his canoe, and with many handshakings allowed us to pursue our way. We found that during our absence the people of Upoto had, through the medium of some other tribes, made overtures of peace; so we hoped that, on the arrival of the Stanley, the expedition would not only establish the State's authority at the Falls, but also settle this troublesome business of ours, which had now been going on for nearly eighteen months. Owing to Captain Van de Velde's death, however, the Stanley did not arrive at Bangala till the beginning of April-and then without the expedition, which remained at Léopoldville waiting for Van de Velde's successor. It was expected WARD BRINGS NEWS. 213 that, by the time the Stanley returned to Léopoldville, all would be in readiness, and the longdelayed expedition to Stanley Falls would at last get under way. But even should there be no more delays, Tippoo Tip would, by the time it arrived at Stanley Falls, have been there nearly a year, during which time not a word of communication has passed between the Falls and Ntamo, so that the state of affairs at the former place was at this time utterly unknown to the outside world. On the evening of Sunday, April 8th, 1888, the Europeans at Bangala Station were seated at dinner, when one of the Houssas doing sentry by the river came in and reported that he had heard some people in canoes talking Kiswahili; but, as it was too dark to see anything, he could not tell whether there was one canoe or fifty. As no news had come from Stanley Falls for nearly a year, and the force which was to have been sent up to Tippoo Tip had been delayed by various circumstances, we conjectured that the latter had despatched the canoes to make inquiries about it. Following the chief of the station down to the beach, I saw, looming through the darkness, two huge canoes lashed together, slowly approaching the bank. The first man to step ashore was Mr Herbert Ward, who had passed up-river a year ago in the Stanley with the last detachment of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, and whom I then supposed to be either at Wadelai or on his way thence to the east coast. In answer to my hurried inquiries, I learned that no news had been received from Stanley, except the vague reports of deserters from his caravan ; that Major Barttelot and his company were still at the camp on the Aruhwimi Rapids, where Stanley had left them, and where they were living principally on manioc and beans; and that Tippoo Tip, after making various excuses for the non-arrival of the promised 600 carriers, had gone to Kassongo in November 1887. As he had not returned by the following January, Major Barttelot had sent Mr Jameson to hurry his movements, and the latter was still absent when Mr Ward left the Aruhwimi. The Stanley had left Bangala on the morning of the 8th, and Mr Ward started early on the following morning, in order if possible to overtake her at Equator, where she was to stop and take in wood. He had come from the Arab settlement at the mouth of the Lomami (with thirty-five Zanzibaris, in two canoes lashed together) in five and a half days; and pursuing his journey in a smaller canoe, manned by Samba and twenty Ba-Ngala, reached Equator in less than twenty-two hours, arriving an hour or two before the departure of the Stanley. He thus performed the entire journey between the Lomami and Equator (a distance of over 500 miles) in six and a half days. The journey could not have RAPID TRAVELLING. 215 been made in a shorter time by any of the steamers at that time on the Upper Congo, which were forced to stop every night to cut wood; whereas Mr Ward took no rest, but travelled day and night, with the exception of a stay of less than ten hours at Bangala-so that the tidings which had left the Aruhwimi on April 2d were known in England by the 1st of May. 216. CHAPTER X. MAJOR BARTTELOT'S CAMP. START FOR YAMBUYA-A ROYAL STOWAWAY-WAR-DRUMS-THE BASOKO-SCENERY OF THE ARUHWIMI-DEPREDATIONS OF THE CAMP-SALIM BIN MAHOMED-MANYEMAS-SALIM SENDS HIS THE thirty-five Zanzibaris mentioned in the last chapter as having come down with Ward, remained for the present at Bangala-the Commissaire de District promising to take them back in the A.I.A. Owing to a trip I had to take to Equator on business connected with the station, and the preparations necessary for the run to Stanley Falls, our departure was delayed till April 24th, when the A.I.A. left Bangala, with Mr Van Kerckhoven and myself, the thirty-five Zanzibaris, and her own crew of fifteen men, on board. The poor little steamer, having a whale-boat lashed on one side of |