Mr. Tisdel to Mr. Bayard.
Sir: In compliance with my instructions, I had the honor to report fully to the Department on the 25th of April upon the present and prospective commerce of the Lower Congo and the west coast of Africa, and now, begging reference thereto, I have the honor to continue as follows:
Colonel Sir Francis de Winton, an Englishman, is the governor-general of the “Free States of the Congo,” appointed by the King of the Belgians, and having advised him of the probable date of my arrival at Banana, he kindly engaged for me a special caravan of fifty-six Loango men from thp coast north of Banana, and within a few hours after my arrival they were in readiness, and started with me from the coast in the small steamer Heron, belonging to the International Association. Colonel de Winton informed me that it was almost impossible to engage a native caravan from the upper country, as they experienced great difficulty at times in passing through the territory belonging to unfriendly tribes, thus necessitating a constant changing of caravans, and not unfrequently resulting in heavy losses, both by theft and by desertion of the men with the loads which they were carrying. The Loangos and Kabindas from the coast can and do pass freely to and from the up country, and are invaluable as carriers. They speak a patois of the Congo language, and have no difficulty whatever in getting on with the natives. They are known not to belong to any up country tribe; hence the freedom with which they are allowed to pass; and it is a rare thing for them to be attacked by the natives, and then only for purposes of theft. With few exceptions my Loango men spoke the Portuguese language, and, speaking this language myself, I was enabled to make all my wants known without the aid of an interpreter; and without exception, the men attached to my caravan were brave, obedient, loyal men, and rarely ever complained of the hardships which they were compelled to endure.
Arriving at Vivi, there were added to my caravan one Kabinda interpreter, four Zanzibar servants, one Gold Coast cook, and twelve armed Houssas from Lagos, an English possession off: the mouth of the Niger. It will be seen that my caravan, leaving Mpozo, consisted of seventy-five persons, all told. Each Loango man carried 70 pounds, the loads being made up of canned provisions, cloth, beads, brass rods, one field tent, and supply of cooking utensils.
The Berlin conference having settled the question as to the claims of both France and Portugal to territory within the commercial basin of the Congo, the occasion has passed for me to report upon the same, and referring you to my reports from Berlin, dated October 29, 1884, and [Page 301] from London, dated November 23, 1884, I will simply say that, in the division of territory, both France and Portugal secured all that they wished for and much more than they had expected. I have been informed by people well acquainted with the country that they have the richest, best, and most productive of all the vast territory which came within the scope of discussion in the Berlin conference, so far as the country has been explored, and the diplomacy displayed by the plenipotentiaries from both countries named evokes their warmest praise.
In my report from Lisbon, dated April 25, I had the honor to describe fully the low countries and the Lower Congo, giving full particulars as to the depth of water, and the available harbors and landings at and near its mouth, with their advantages, disadvantages, and peculiarities, and I will now ask you to follow me from Vivi to and around Stanley Pool, on the route to which latter place I made many explorations to points remote from the river, thus gaining valuable information as to the country, the people, and their peculiarities.
From Mpozo, opposite Vivi, to Stanley Pool, on the south shore, everything which goes up country must be carried on the heads of native or Loan go carriers, each man carrying 70 pounds, as before stated. From Vivi to Issanghila, on the north shore, a distance of 66 miles, the same mode of transportation is adopted, while from Issanghila to Manyanga, a distance of 84 miles, two small whale-boats are used on the river, each boat being manned by fourteen Zanzibars and carrying from 60 to 70 loads of 70 pounds each, making the round trip in about twelve days. Then from South Manyanga to Lutete and Leopoldville carriers are again employed. The cost per ton of 2,000 pounds for the transportation of supplies from Vivi to Leopoldville, a distance of 250 miles, exceeds $300, and from Banana to Vivi the cost is about $75 per ton. You can safely add $25 per ton, the tariff from Europe to Banana, and we find that the cost of transportation is $400 per ton and upwards from Europe to Stanley Pool. Everything which is required for the employés of the Association comes from Europe, the only possible exception being in the matter of food, where occasionally goats or fowls can be purchased, and for the native or Loango carriers there may at times be purchased mandioca, corn, bananas, and ground-nuts. This applies to the entire country after leaving Ponta da Lenha, on the Lower Congo and the repeated statements which have appeared from time to time in the European press to the effect that all kinds of tropical fruits, vegetables, cattle, and sheep are raised in abundance, are without the slightest foundation in fact, or at least so far as my observation and inquiry extended.
The only roads in the country are the narrow paths from village to village which are followed by the caravans, and so narrow are they that the “Indian file” of march is by force adopted. No rule has be observed in the original laying out of these paths, nor has the International Association improved upon them since their advent in the country. Only natives can be depended upon to find the way from Mpozo to Stanley Pool without a guide, and it not unfrequently happens that coast caravans and Houssas couriers take the wrong path, and travel many miles, even days, out of their way before finding their mistake. These paths cross each other in every direction, and great difficulty is experienced in keeping the right path. The natives often tie the grass over a path just at the point where the main path may be intersected by another, thus purposely leading one astray. On two occasions, passing through a valley, I became separated from the main body of my caravan, and had no little difficulty in again finding them. In the valleys [Page 302] one may march many miles through the tall, rank grass, often 12 to 20 feet high, without being able to see out either right, left, or overhead. In the dry season as well as in the rainy season the grass is wet, and in the early morning the traveler is thoroughly drenched within a few moments after entering a valley. This condition arises from the heavy dews which prevail thoroughout the dry season. Traveling through these valleys is not at all pleasant, as one is liable to have one’s hands and face badly cut by contact with the sharp blades of rank grass. The natives often suffer greatly when attached to a caravan; their hands not being free when carrying a load, they cannot shield themselves from the grass.
Mr. Stanley once made a road from Vivi to Issanghila for the purpose of hauling on wheels, in sections, his small steamers for use on the Upper Congo. This road served its purpose, but was not kept in repair, and has now been abandoned for the native paths, except in the Bundi Valley. The same may be said of the road from Chumba to Inkissi, over which the steamer Le Stanley is now being transported on wheels. The traveler through the valley of the Congo must wade through swamps waist deep; he must swim rivers; he must climb the rugged clay hills, and cross miles of arid sandy plains, without water and without a tree to shelter him from the scorching sun, always following the zigzag native trail, sometimes amongst friendly tribes, again within the domain of unfriendly people, and then through a vast tract of desert country without population.
It is unfortunate that navigation on the great Congo River should be so interrupted by the numerous falls and rapids which are encountered between Vivi and Stanley Pool. The principal and seemingly unsurmountable falls are those of Yellala, N’Goma, Issanghila, Manyanga, N’Tamo-Makota, Zinga, Elsa, Inkissi, Kaloulou, and N’Tamo, or Livingston, in addition to which there are innumerable rapids, and all within a distance of 250 miles, being a total fall of 1,600 feet.
Between Issanghila and Manyanga, a distance of 84 miles, the river may be considered navigable for small boats, which may be towed over the rapids on the voyage up country, while it is claimed that powerful light draught steamers can force the rapids. On my return trip to the coast I voyaged in an open boat, following Mr. Stanley’s track from Manyanga to Issanghila, passing many rapids and whirlpools, and making the distance of 84 miles in fifteen hours.
The International Association has established the following named stations within the valley of the Congo: Mpozo, Banza Manteka, Voondah, Lukungo, South Manyanga, Lutete, Leopoldville, Kinchassa, Kimpoko, Msouta, Kouamout, Bolobo, Riukolela, and Equator, on the south bank, and Boma, Ikungula, Vivi, Issanghila, North Manyanga, Bangala, Aruwimi, and Falls Station, on the north side of the river. Falls Station and Aruwimi have been abandoned because of the repeated attacks upon them by the Arabs and native traders. Bolobo has been for some time besieged by several hundred natives, and will ere this have been abandoned; and preparations were being made to withdraw from the Kouamout when I left, on account of the thieving propensities and hostilities of the women, who are the governing power in the tribes of the Kouamout, the men having no voice whatever.
All of the stations in the Niada Quilu and the Ogowe have been surrendered to the French, so that, in fact, the International Association cannot claim to control the valley beyond Equator. Boma, Ikunglula, Vivi, Issanghila, and Leopoldville are the only stations with houses “built of wood. All other stations have houses built of reeds, straw, and [Page 303] poles. At Vivi and Leopoldville there are from ten to twenty white men, while at each of the other stations there are but one or two. The chief of each station has a guard of from ten to thirty armed Houssas (English negro subjects from Lagos). He is charged with the employment of carriers, gives protection to caravans as far as it may be in his power, and furnishes relay couriers for the portage of mails and important dispatches from one station to another. In the event of trouble arising between the natives and Association employés, the stoppage of caravans, or an attack upon the station, a Houssas force is quickly concentrated at the most convenient point and the natives punished.
There are many tribes within the valley of the Congo, each tribe living quite to itself, being ruled over by a chief or king, called N’Fumo, who is absolute dictator within his own tribal domain. The tribes of the lower country speak a different language from those of the upper country, yet they make themselves well understood one with the other by speaking a patois of the Suihila, which language is generally understood throughout Upper Central Africa.
These tribes often go to war with each other upon the most trifling pretext, and, notwithstanding they are all armed with guns, it is a rare thing that a native is killed by this weapon. They seem to have little or no idea how to use the gun sucessfully, and a complete victory consists in the burning of villages, the capture of prisoners, and their execution by the knife, spear, or fire afterwards, or their sale into slavery. It is a remarkable fact that while guns and powder are plenty, lead is almost unknown to the natives, the coast traders having so far kept it from them. They therefore use small pebbles and baked clay balls instead of bullets, though very recently they have taken to cutting brass rods into slugs, and naturally the gun will soon become a dangerous weapon in their hands. Since the advent of the white man with his repeating rifle, the up-country kings are commencing to demand that they be supplied with percussion guns. Up to the present time the gun has been used only to make a noise with. With it they profess to frighten away bad spirits; to bring health to the sick; to assist the spirit of a departed friend; to celebrate events of joy or sorrow; in fact, the gun is used for everything but for war purposes or the killing of game.
As a rule, these people are a cruel, treacherous, thieving set, and notwithstanding published reports to the contrary, it is not safe for a white man to travel without an armed escort, The natives are very much afraid of the white men, and particularly so of the armed Houssas, whom they consider child-eating cannibals. The precision of their aim and the certain fatal result of their rifle shot strike the natives with terror. Beyond Stanley Pool a white man or a caravan belonging to the International Association has never yet penetrated to any distance from the main river excepting in boats, and invariably the explorations have been made along the Congo and for a short distance on one or two of its branches, and then a strong guard has been found necessary lest the boats might be captured by the pirates who swarm on the rivers of the up-country regions.
Many of the villages are inclosed by a stockade from 6 to 12 feet high, with but one entrance, which is closely guarded to prevent surprise by an attacking party.
The houses or huts in which these people live are built of reeds and grass tightly woven and tied to a frame-work composed of two upright sticks, with ridge-pole, four corner sticks, and bamboo rafters. The size of these huts varies greatly, though as a rule I found them to be [Page 304] about 10 feet square, from 2 to 3 feet high at the sides, and about 8 feet in the center from ground to ridge-pole. The only opening or door is a hole in the front of the hut about 3 feet square, and this is closed at night by means of heavy grass mat woven to a bamboo frame and made to slide either to the right or the left. From six to twelve people may occupy these huts, only, however, for sleeping purposes or shelter from the storm. As a rule the occupants sleep on the bare ground, though I have seen grass matting laid down, and where kings or princes are amongst the occupants goat skins may be spread upon a raised bamboo frame which serves as a bed. The straw roof and rafters inside are smoked to a jet black, the effects of a small fire almost constantly burning in the center of the hut. There being no chimney or vent-hole for the escape of the smoke, it forces its way through the tightly woven grass, with the result described. I have slept in these huts, and on several occasions I have occupied the palace of a king for my sleeping quarters. My tent was preferable by far, as I was comparatively free from vermin and filth, which are ever to be found in the huts of the common natives and alike in the palaces of kings.
The dress of the natives usually consists of a small piece of cloth tied about the loins; though amongst different tribes I observed many customs in the manner of dress. Many go naked, with the exception, perhaps, of a string of beads around the neck, waist, and ankles. Others wear heavy bands of iron or brass about the neck, wrists, and ankles, while some wear a long strip of native-made or trader’s cloth, tied by the corners over one shoulder, passing under the arm on the opposite side, hanging loosely, and leaving one side of the body absolutely naked. Kings, queens, and their families usually cover their nakedness, though it is not always the case. As a rule, however, they wrap themselves in a large piece of cloth or the skins of some animal. Trader’s cloth is gradually finding its way to the interior, but the natives make a grass cloth which is far better than any they can buy from the trader. Tribes along the coast wear more cloth than those of the interior, though the principal use which is made of cloth is at the time of death, when the body is wrapped up in cloth (the savings of a life-time) and buried. Hundreds of yards are thus consumed, and it is for this purpose, rather than for day dresses, night dresses, or Sunday dresses, that the demand is made. The body of a king may be, and often is, wrapped in thousands of yards, which go into the grave with the body.
Ornaments are worn by the native women in great profusion, and many of them are very artistically gotten up. Highly polished charms made from the ivory of, the hippopotamus are worn around the neck, while the lower limbs may be heavily laden with brass rings. In many tribes the custom prevails of piercing the lobes of the ears and the center cartilage of the nose and inserting pieces of bamboo wood, the wearer naturally presenting a horrible appearance. Amongst the coast tribes the empty metallic cartridge shell is in very great demand, and in the course of a day’s march you may meet hundreds of women wearing these shells as ear and nose ornaments.
In the up-country common blue or white glass beads are worn. These are purchased from the traders on the coast by native caravan men, and generally sold in the public market places. But the most appreciated of any ornament is three or four of the coarse hairs of an elephant’s tail, which are worn about the neck. Not only is it considered a beautiful ornament, but it carries with it a religious or fetich charm.
Each tribe has its distinguishing tattoo or tribal mark. Generally the mark is upon some part of the face, though I have seen both men and [Page 305] women most artistically tattooed on the breast and back. Some of the tribes are very profuse in the use of paint; this is especially so amongst the women, who smear their heads with a mixture of ground red bark or red clay and palm oil. Some paint their bodies white, while others go into deep mourning by painting their black faces still blacker than nature has made them. Some clip the hair or shave the head in all sorts of fanciful styles, while others allow the hair to grow, plastering it with oil, braiding and twisting it into spirals interwoven with small wire, and standing out from the head in every conceivable shape. Many women with a lxuriant growth of hair have it very closely woven and done up high on the top of the head, not unlike a great cushion, while some arrange the hair to look like an old-style “poke bonnet.” I doubt if such artistic hair work can be produced in any other part of the world.
Education in any sense of the word is wholly unknown. The natives live like brutes and seem to have no idea above the brute creation. There are occasional exceptions to this rule, where in the up-country you may find here and there persons showing signs of intelligence far above the ordinary run of people. They even may, and do, make good rules for the government of their market places, and some of them display great shrewdness in barter and trade; yet it is an indisputable fact that the people are without the first rudiments of an education, and efforts which have been made to instruct them have proved failures. Some of the missionaries claim to have established schools and to be actively engaged in educating young children. This is not true, in fact, of the missionaries in the valley of the Congo. The missionaries do take small children for their servants; they feed them and clothe them (after a manner) and attempt to inculcate within them a spirit of religion; but I have yet to see a Congo man, woman, or child with whom the missionaries have made any progress. The French Catholic mission at Gaboon, on the coast, is the only mission which can lay claim to having accomplished anything. There they are instructing boys in the art of agriculture.
As to the general intelligence of the people, I could observe very little difference between them. They are, however, a shrewd, cunning, though throughly unprincipled people. The tribes around and above Stanley Pool are perhaps superior to those of the low land; certainly they surpass the people of the low country in treachery and cruelty, and I doubt whether anything can ever be done to inspire them with a wish even to become educated. They do not know what it means. Their mode of life and their everyday surroundings cannot be changed. The population is too great, and as they live now so they have lived for ages past. Their morals are of the lowest type. They have no regard whatever for virtue, and their immoral practices place them quite as low in this respect as are the apes or monkeys of the low countries. Disorders of the most loathsome character are rife and apparent everywhere.
Gold, silver, or paper money is wholly unknown, the currency of the country being gin, glass beads, brass rods, red cotton handkerchiefs, trade cloth, powder, and flint-lock guns. With these articles one can buy one’s way through the country or purchase the native products, such as rubber, ground nuts, palm-nuts, ivory, &c., and with the same currency one pays the wages of and buys food for a caravan, buys slaves, or anything which may be offered for sale by the natives. Of this variegated currency gin is the most valuable; indeed, it may be truly said that “it is worth its weight in gold.”
[Page 306]The population is not so dense between Vivi and Stanley Pool as it is in the low country and on the far upper river; yet there are vast numbers to be found, and how they manage to exist at all is a wonder. They are not a meat-eating people, and subsist almost entirely upon ground-nuts and chiquanga, which latter is the ground mandioca mixed with fermented palm-tree sap and sun-baked. Very little game is to be found in the country, and such as there is the people are not capable of taking. If a white man shoots an elephant, the natives will swarm around the carcass by the hundreds and feast to their heart’s content. Goats and fowls they rarely ever eat, reserving them for trade, and oftentimes they send them hundreds of miles to exchange for gin or powder; as a rule, however, they send them to the open market or to the stations of the African International Association. In the low countries wild berries and native fruits, in addition to the ground-nuts and chiquanga, constitute the food. But, as I have before stated, cattle do not exist in the country, and are only brought on steamers from Angola, from month to month, for consumption at the trading-houses located at the mouth of the river.
The natives adhere to a very ancient custom of fixed market places on neutral ground, where friend and foe alike can meet on certain days for the exchange of their products. These market places are located upon high ground as a rule, overlooking the country for miles around, and on every fourth day the people gather in great numbers for purposes of “barter and trade.” People from several different tribes not unfrequently meet in these market places. Native traders who go to and from the coast with caravans are around in these market places with large stocks of cloth, beads, guns, and powder, which they exchange for the native products. In the up country so little is offered for sale, excepting the food which is consumed by the natives, that many market days may pass before a sufficient quantity of produce can be obtained to load even a small caravan for the coast. To illustrate, a family may have a quantity of palm-nuts, with which they must buy food—say mandioca, ground-nuts, or bananas. The native who has the food for sale does not want the palm-nuts, but demands beads, brass rods, or powder, as the case may be. The owner of the palm-nuts must go to the caravan trader and trade off the palm-nuts for beads, brass rods, or powder, and then with these articles he can buy the food required for his family. Sometimes the produce must change hands four or five times before the original owner can purchase what he wants. The women are the principal small traders, and gather in great numbers on market days. They do all of the work, such as garden making, gathering the wild products, and providing for the family, and have all to say as to what proportion of their small crops shall go to the market. Each village has its garden plot, palm and banana grove. In the garden they raise ground nuts and mandioca only; and from this garden the partial food wants of the villagers are first supplied, when a portion is set aside for the purchase of cloth, gin, powder, or whatever else they may want from the public market. Rubber is occasionally found in small quantities in the market places, but the production in the country between Vivi and Stanley Pool is very small, and found only in the valleys of the rivers or the low marsh lands. Goats, fowls, and eggs may at times be purchased in the open market, though not in abundance.
My description of the manner in which “barter and trade” is conducted by the natives would not be complete without a reference to the slave trade, which is carried on everywhere within the Congo Valley $ and it is useless for any one to say that slavery does not exist. Every [Page 307] king or chief owns slaves in great numbers, and this slave ownership is not confined to those in authority. While it is true that slaves are not exported from the country, nevertheless slavery exists, and hundreds of thousands are bought and sold every year on the “barter and trade” plan, though but little value is attached to them, as they can be readily purchased for small quantities of gin, cloth, or powder. Disputes between chiefs of tribes are settled by slave transfers, and the sacrifice of human life is largely from amongst these wretched beings.
In the Portuguese possessions it is claimed that slavery has been abolished. However true this may be, it is also true that a large trade in human flesh is carried on, but it is regulated by the Government and called “contract labor.” The natives are captured by the up country chiefs and taken to points on the Cuanza River, where they are sold to the trader. They are then taken to the coast, where an officer of the Government superintends the contracting, registering each “laborer” by number, after which they are shipped to the islands of St. Thomas and Principe, and delivered to the planter whose agent has been one of the contracting parties. In both of these islands I have seen the laborers at work, and I must confess that they are far better off than they ever were or ever could hope to be in their native country. They have good houses, good food, are clothed and well treated, and have one holiday each week. They seem perfectly contented, and never express a wish to be taken back to the country from whence they came.
Commercially speaking, I cannot see where or how it is possible to create a paying business in the up country. It is a rare thing that a trading caravan comes to any point on the Congo from the remote interior. Small caravans do come to Boma, Noki, and to Mpozo, occasionally, but they are made up from the immediate surrounding country, and it is an exceptional case when they come from the up-country interior. During my stay in the country but two caravans bringing ivory came to the lower river, and then the number of tusks was very small. I do not see how the course of the caravans can be diverted from the paths which they have followed for years. The routes from the interior along the Congo to the coast are by way of San Salvador to Ambrizettee, and south of that the routes are direct to Ambriz, St. Paul de Loando, and Benguilla, or to points along the Cuanza River in Angola. Almost the entire trade with the interior is south of latitude 6° south, and is carried on with trading stations which have been established for years. I repeat what I said in my commercial report of the 25th of April: There is not, nor has there ever been, a trading station at any point on the Congo River above Noki, and every trader with whom I have conversed assures me that they depend upon the low country for the greater part of their business, and have not deemed it advisable to establish posts farther inland. They do not look upon the immediate valley of the Congo, between Vivi and Stanley Pool, as a rich or productive country, and beyond that they know nothing excepting what has appeared in Mr. Stanley’s books, which give us assurance of its fertility of soil, its rich productions, and its fine climate; but this cannot apply to the country along the Congo west of 17° east longitude.
Comparatively speaking, very little ivory comes to the west coast. Mr. Stanley brought with him from the vicinity of Falls Station, in longitude 25° east, one hundred and fifty tusks. The agents of the Association have been enabled to accumulate only eighty tusks within the year ending March last, and King Galeama, who is the most noted native ivory trader in the country, living near Leopoldville, had in the same time [Page 308] accumulated less than two hundred tusks. Galeama trades entirely with Ambriz, and has never sent a caravan to any point on the lower river.
In the year 1884 more than 12,000 tons of merchandise were shipped to and from the Congo by and for account of the Dutch African Trading Company of Rotterdam, but scarcely any of this merchandise came from or went to the interior beyond the limit of the lowland—say 100 miles. The principal station and warehouses of the Dutch company are at Banana, which is the general receiving and distributing point for their fifty-two branch stations, all of which are located on the lowlands, between latitude 4° 40ʹ south and 13° south, the sea-coast and longitude 13° 45ʹ east. This applies also to the location of the French, English, and Portuguese trading stations, not one station ever having been established east of longitude 13° 45′. From the published statements as to the value and tonnage of exports and imports to and from the Congo one might naturally infer that this merchandise actually went to the upper country, and that large quantities of valuable produce came from the remote interior. This is not the case; nine tenths of the entire trade of the Congo is within the geographical limits above described. The Portuguese traders of Angola depend upon the low countries and valley of the Cuanza for their principal business, and only look for ivory from the remote interior, and which, I may remark, comes down only in small quantities, which makes it very evident that the nearest, most feasible, and natural outlet for ivory is via Zanzibar, and, through the Soudan, down the Nile.
Admitting that the country above Stanley Pool is rich in everything which can be produced in a tropical clime, even let there be gold and silver, I doubt whether anything could be made to pay the cost of transportation out of the country. There are no roads; oxen, mules, or horses cannot live in the country; and to my mind the proposition to construct a railway from Vivi to Leopoldville is far in advance of the wants or capabilities, of the country. There is no available timber, there is no stone, the country is one vast region of sand and clay hills; hence everything must come from Europe, and the first cost of construction would be ten times the estimate given to the public. No survey has yet been made, and it is not possible to reach a correct conclusion as to the probable cost. Coal is not delivered at Vivi at a lower price than $25 per ton, and the climatic deterioration would add at least 50 per cent, to the cost. Then there must be a large fleet of steamers both for the upper and the lower river. Cargo must be transferred several times; hence I cannot see how anything can be made to pay the cost of transportation. The native caravan transport would be far the cheaper method. I base my opinion upon twelve years’ active business experience in the transportation of merchandise to and from and within tropical countries.
The country is hilly, almost mountainous, yet without rock or stone excepting in the bed of the great river. At different points there are somewhat precipitous banks of a crumbly slate; and in all my travels I found but one small mountain of sandstone and granite formation—this in the Bundi Valley, near the river. Along the banks of the Congo there are here and there only a few trees of any considerable size. With one exception there is no heavily timbered country between Ponta de Lenha and Stanley Pool; I refer to the Masamba forest, which, though small in extent, contains some beautiful specimens of large-growth hardwood trees. In the valley of the Louvu and the Inkissi Rivers, close along the water’s edge, there are some trees, but mostly soft wood. At one or two points along the pool there are also small forests, but nothing [Page 309] available for lumber-making to any extent. There are fertile patches of ground here and there, usually in close proximity to the villages, and the valleys of the rivers are also very fertile, but not cultivated. Where attempts have been made to cultivate the soil, invariably the elephant or hippopotamus comes upon the scene and devours or tramples everything in shape of vegetation.
There is little animal life in the country. Horses and cattle are unknown, and but three mules, the property of Colonel Sir Francis de Winton, are now alive in the Congo Valley. Food for these mules is brought from Europe.
Elephants are to be found in Banza Mantaka Valley, and occasionally they may be seen in the valley of Louvu and Quillu. They are not numerous on the western slope of equatorial Africa, being found only along the fertile river valleys and rarely ever going near the banks of the Congo until the hilly and barren country is passed. Above Stanley Pool they increase in numbers and roam in large herds, rarely ever being molested or hunted by the natives, and the small quantity of ivory which finds its way to the Atlantic coast comes from the far up country. The Arabs have a monopoly of the ivory trade, which, combined with their nefarious dealings in slaves, renders their business a most profitable one.
The climate of the Congo country, especially that portion of it below Stanley Pool, is bad, and but few white men are enabled to remain any great length of time without contracting one or more of the terrible diseases which prevail. A bilious or pernicious fever is most to be dreaded, and is usually attended with fatal results. It comes upon one suddenly, and unless immediately checked assumes the phase of yellow fever, causing death in two or three days and oftentimes within a few hours. The mortality among the white men who have engaged to serve the International Association has been something fearful. I have never known anything to compare to it in any other country. The new-comer is sure to be attacked with dysentery or small fevers very soon after arrival in the country; not one escapes. These latter diseases readily yield to medical treatment or are overcome by an immediate change of climate, which is obtained by sending the patient to the sea-shore or to the cool country of Lower Angola; but the pernicious fever generally terminates fatally. It is said that the climate near Stanley Pool is much better than in the country lower down, but my experience leads me to believe that there is very little difference. I found much sickness at Stanley Pool; in fact, it was an exception to find a well white man anywhere. It was my painful duty to bury, at Stanley Pool, Major Burns, a fine young English officer who had accompanied me from Manyanga, and who was ill but a few hours. The death roll amongst white men along the line of my march was something appalling, and the International Association does not muster to day in Africa fifty able-bodied white men, and but one hundred and twenty all told. During a period covering six years last passed the president of the International Association has contracted with about six hundred white men to serve in Africa for three years. But five of this large number have thus far been able to remain for the full contract time. Only two American have ever been employed by the Association; one came to the United States ill last year, and committed suicide while suffering from the effects of the fever, and the other I left dangerously ill at Issanghila on my way down country.
The heat is not so intense as it is in the same latitude in South America, excepting along the coast, where the thermometer ranges from [Page 310] 80° to 105° Fahr. in the shade. But at Stanley Pool the thermometer rarely ever registers above 85° Fahr. in the shade. A cooling sea-breeze sweeps up the valley in the afterpart of the day, reaching Vivi at about five o’clock. While it is refreshing for the time, there is no doubt but that it carries with it the poisonous malaria from the lowlands scattering it with deadly effect wherever the breeze reaches.
There is no government of any kind in the valley of the Congo. A king or chief may rule over his own particular tribe, and over the lives and property of his subjects he may be absolute; yet this can hardly be called government. Makoko and other great kings claim absolute control over many tribes, but such is not the case. This has been proven in the repeated attempts of the “great kings” to sell territory belonging to tribes not of their own, and which sales have invariably been annulled, or, rather, not permitted to go into effect. A treaty made between a white man and one of the kings cannot be depended upon. If land is transferred to you to-day by treaty, or extraordinary privileges granted you, I may come along to-morrow, and with two or three bottles of gin I can purchase the same land and obtain the same privileges from the same king with whom you have dealt. Kings and fetich priests make laws or rules which are of the most cruel character, and the sacrifice of human life is as common within the Congo Valley as it is in the kingdoms of Dahomey or Ashantee. There are no laws for the protection of the rights of individuals, and if there were laws, there is no power to execute them. I repeat there is no government within the valley of the Congo. The International Association, which has been engaged during the last six years in exploring the vast regions of the Congo, and which was recently awarded by the Berlin conference territory of 1,100,000 square miles, has attempted to establish a government to be known hereafter as the “Free States of the Congo.” True they have established stations on the lower and upper river, but they are simply tolerated by the natives. They cannot get a native to join the soldiery of the Free States, nor can they depend upon the natives to do their work or to become carriers in their caravans. They will not till the soil excepting in so far as it is necessary to produce food for themselves. In short, they will do nothing. These natives are a lazy, treacherous, wild, and cruel set of people, and the International Association has already begun to experience great difficulty in keeping them quiet. Up to last January the English Government had permitted the enlistment or contract of Lagos men and Houssas as soldiers and guards to the Association; but now that permit has been canceled, and as rapidly as enlistments expire the men are being returned to their homes. This, added to the fact that no more Zanzibar men can be obtained, the last detachment having left in April, leaves the Association without guard, and comparatively without labor. Just where they can obtain soldiers and workmen from is a serious question at this present moment, as Europeans cannot live in the country, and do the work required.
The only income which the “Free States of the Congo” has is £40,000 per annum, the endowment of the King of the Belgians, where during the last five or six years His Majesty has given £200,000 per annum.
They have no revenue from lands or from shipping, from customs, or from the established trading-houses in Banana, and should King Leopold withdraw this gratuity it is impossible to foresee where funds would come from for the support of the infant “Free State”; yet I sincerely hope that the expectations of those who are identified with the making of a great “Free State” in equatorial Africa may be realized.
[Page 311]I am the only commissioner from any country who has ever visited the Congo Valley, and I am aware of the fact that my report may differ somewhat from the statements respecting this country, and which have appeared in print from time to time; yet I am conscious of having done my duty in strict accordance with the instructions which I had the honor to receive from the Department.
Again I express my regret that I was unable to go to the farthermost limits of the interior Free State. There was no available means of transportation on the upper river, and to have proceeded by caravan was an utter impossibility. The Association have but two small steamers above Stanley Pool, the Royal and the A. I. A., both of which were up country, and there was no means of knowing when they would return.
The question may be asked, “Why has this condition of affairs on the Congo not been made public before?” I will answer by asking your attention to the annexed copy, being a translation of the contract which every man who enters the service of the International Association must become a party to before taking his departure from Europe. Especially do I ask your attention to Article V.
I append also, for your information, copies of two letters which I had the honor to address to Rear-Admiral Earl English, U. S. N., to which I call your attention.
From my report it will be seen (1) that whatever trade there has been with Central Africa has been carried on north and south of the Congo; (2) the cost for transportation precludes traffic between Stanley Pool and the coast without a railway; (3) there is not business enough to support a railway; (4) the inhabitants have but few wants, therefore the most limited trade only is possible; and (5) in no part of lowland or coast of equatorial Africa, is it possible for an American or European (save perhaps the Portuguese) to live for a longer period than one or two years.
To His Majesty the King of the Belgians, to Colonel Strauch, president of the International Association, and to Mr. Henry M. Stanley I am indebted for most polite and courteous attention, and my sincerest thanks go out to Colonel Francis de Winton, governor-general of the Free States of the Congo, to Dr. Rolph T. Leslie, who was my companion for many days, and to Mr. Jung and Mr. de la Fontaine, of the Dutch African Trading Company, as well as to many other gentlemen of the Association staff, from all of whom I received the greatest possible kindness.
I have, &c.,
Agent of the United States.