Through the Heart of Darkness with HENRY MORTON STANLEY

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Dedication to Livingstone’s Mission
Stanley saw Africa as a challenge, Livingstone as his example and inspiration. Stanley dedicated his life to serving Africa by developing Christianity and civilisation throughout its vast and unexplored interior. Shortly after the funeral of Dr David Livingstone at Westminster Abbey, the Daily Telegraph of London and the New York Herald united to fund an expedition to Central Africa under the leadership of Henry Stanley: “To complete the work left unfinished by the lamentable death of Dr. Livingstone; to solve, if possible, the remaining problems of the geography of Central Africa; and to investigate and report upon the haunts of the slave traders…”“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of Hosts.” Zechariah 4:6

Through the Dark Continent
On 15 August 1874, Stanley and three volunteers set sail from England for Zanzibar. He sought the men who had served him on the Livingstone Search Expedition, or who had served with Livingstone. Ultimately he selected 356 carriers and soldiers. On 12 November 1874, loaded with animals and supplies, they set sail for Bagamoyo, on the coast of East Africa. Immediately he had to deal with those of his men who began stealing and assaulting the local inhabitants! Then when he found that some had kidnapped women he forced them to set them free. He then faced down a mutiny. Then there were desertions. They passed through areas of severe famine. Their guides deserted. New guides got them lost.

Heat, Famine and Pestilence
January 1875, began with a series of severe hardships and catastrophes. Men died from the heat, from lack of food and from exhaustion. Local inhabitants were hostile and severely overcharged the expedition for food. Sickness plagued the men. In the first two months, 20 people died and 89 deserted – one third of the expedition!

The First of Many Battles
Then the Ituru natives attacked the expedition. In just one battle the expedition lost 21 askaris. When Stanley reached Lake Victoria, he called on volunteers to man the boat, the Lady Alice. Not one stepped forward. The men declared that they were “cowards on the water.” Thereafter Stanley dispensed with asking for volunteers and selected and ordered his men.

Lake Victoria
Beginning on 8 March 1875, Stanley explored Lake Victoria – establishing it as the largest lake in Africa, covering 26,000 square miles. Stanley sailed along, and mapped, its 2000 miles of shoreline, recording every cove, river and island connected with it. Frequently he faced savages, often drunk, screaming their intention to kill him. His calm and confident demeanour frequently prevented conflict.

Kabaka Mtesa
In April he met with Mtesa, the Kabaka (or king) of Uganda. John Hanning Speke had written of Mtesa. Mtesa claimed to be a Muslim having been converted to Islam by an Arab, Muley Bin Salim. Stanley determined to destroy his belief in Islam and teach the Doctrines of Christ. For 12 days Stanley instructed the king from the Old and New Testament, and at the end Mtesa announced that he would follow the Christian Sabbath, and he would instruct that the Ten Commandments be written on a board where everyone could see and study them everyday. Mtesa loaned Stanley canoes and men to explore the Western shores of Lake Victoria.

Missionaries for Uganda
Colonel Linant de Bellefonds was sent out by General Charles Gordon, Governor of Sudan, to establish communications with Uganda. Stanley entrusted him with a letter to the Daily Telegraph appealing for missionaries to be sent to Uganda. De Bellefonds was murdered in Sudan, but Stanley’s letters were discovered concealed in his boot. When they eventually found their way to England and were published by the Telegraph, a huge fund was collected and missionaries were sent out to Uganda where Christianity began to flourish.

Under Attack
Later Stanley was confronted by hundreds of well armed warriors in war costume. Only the protection of Mtesa prevented a fight on this occasion. Later as they discovered half decomposed bodies with axe wounds, Mtesa’s escort of canoes deserted Stanley. Within days the expedition came under sustained attack. Stanley wrote of “a scene of rampant wildness and hideous verbosity beyond description.” The boat was surrounded by a forest of spears, over 50 bows were bent nearly double, with levelled arrows. Over 200 stalwart demons contended as to who should deliver the first blow. Stanley had to fight his way out of this desperate situation with his Winchester repeater rifle and shotgun. As they sought to row to safety, war canoes pursued them. With his elephant rifle, Stanley sunk boat after boat of their pursuers.

Fever and Famine
For over 76 hours they were without food before finding refuge. Upon completing their circumnavigation of Lake Victoria, they were welcomed back to their base camp only to discover that another of the Europeans had died and many more of the expedition, were suffering from dysentery. Attacks of fever reduced Stanley to a mere 108 pounds in weight. As they attempted to progress further to the Congo, several of their canoes proved to be rotten and sunk. In all the expedition lost 5 canoes, a case of ammunition, 1,200 pounds of grain and 5 guns.

Conflict and Conversion
The treacherous Bumbireh attacked their party and killed a number of men. Stanley launched a counter attack. Then Mtesa asked for Stanley’s support in dealing with the rebellious Wavuma. By innovation and audacity, Stanley intimidated the Wavuma to surrender without any further bloodshed. He then persuaded Mtesa and his whole court to completely convert to Christianity. Mtesa gave him an army of 2,000 warriors to escort his expedition to Lake Edward.

Lake Tanganyika
After this Stanley marched to Lake Tanganyika and completed the circumnavigation of the lake in 51 days, proving it was the longest fresh-water lake in the world. Stanley had now been in Africa for two years and had accomplished two great geographical objectives, exploring and mapping, both Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika. Now he prepared for the most audacious of all, the exploration of the Congo River.

To the Congo
At this point, Stanley had already accomplished much and could have returned home with honours. However the fascination of the unexplored Lualaba River drew him. Was it part of the Congo? The Niger? Or the Nile River? No explorer had dared enter into that notorious cannibal country. Stanley was convinced that the fast flowing, broad Lualaba must empty into the sea and therefore could only be one of those three great rivers.

Dealing with the Devil
Stanley was convinced that exploring the Lualaba River would be what Livingstone would have wanted him to do. Yet he did not have a single canoe to supplement the Lady Alice. He would have to supplement his expedition with a force strong enough to give him a fighting chance of succeeding. To do so, he would have to deal with Hamid Bin Mohammed, known as Tippu Tib. A notorious slave trader, Tippu Tib was shrewd, unscrupulous, ruthless and cruel. His slave raiders had killed many thousands and enslaved countless more. Tippu Tib and 700 of his men gave confidence to Stanley’s expedition, who were threatening to mutiny, rather than go down the dreaded Heart of Darkness River.

Into the Heart of Darkness
So, on 5 November 1876, Stanley marched out of Nyangwe, at the head of an expedition of nearly 1,000. By the second day they were hacking their way through thick dense jungle, which made every step painful. After a week of marching they had covered only 40 miles. The terrain became even more difficult as the dense jungle shut out every ray of sunshine. When they finally reached the Lualaba River, the Lady Alice was assembled. While Stanley and his crew went by river, Tippu Tib and the bulk of the expedition continued parallel on land. Each village they passed seemed eerily empty. The inhabitants had apparently fled, but the rows of skulls lining the streets and human bones littering huts and yards spoke eloquently of the depraved nature of the inhabitants.

Confronted by Cannibals
Where the Ruiki River empties into the Congo River, Stanley’s path was blocked by war canoes filled with, what he described as, “hostile savages” who poured spears and arrows into his people. As Stanley fired back the attackers fled. Smallpox broke out amongst the expedition and soon they had buried 12 of their number. When they discovered that cannibals dug up the bodies and ate them, they began practising burial in the Congo River.

River Rapids
When they came across six old broken and abandoned canoes, these were repaired and used to transport the sick and wounded. Rapids overturned one of these canoes, and four precious Snider rifles were lost. Despite difficulties on land and river, sickness and hostile attacks, the expedition pushed on. Tippu Tib and others pleaded with Stanley to turn back before it was too late, but Stanley was determined.

Sustained Attack
At Vinya-Njara on 18 December, the expedition came under sustained attack. They constructed a barricade of logs and bush and beat off the savage attacks time and again. The yells of their attackers, the booming of their war horns, the crack of the rifles and muskets and the screams of the wounded created an unnerving and chaotic din. For two hours they fought desperately before the attackers fled. Poisoned arrows continued to drop into the camp throughout the night. Sleep seemed impossible, but even under those conditions, many of the exhausted men dozed on and off. The next morning Stanley set out in the Lady Alice to scout the area, and discovering a series of villages only a quarter of a mile down the river, he decided to capture the nearest village of his attackers. Seizing it, he fortified it and beat off several wild and determined attacks. A mass of arrows flew into the village from the jungle. 800 men in war canoes attempted to rush them.

Counter Attack
After beating both land and river attacks off, Stanley determined to make a night attack and take their canoes. This would not only deprive their attackers of their mobility, but enable his expedition to all travel on the river. That night, under cover of darkness, they cut loose 8 long canoes from one encampment and 26 canoes from another. Some of these canoes were 50 feet long. By 5 in the morning they were all safely back in camp with 38 liberated canoes. At sunrise they could hear the cries of rage from the savages who had been deprived of their most cherished possessions. Now they were ready to accept Stanley’s offer of peace terms. Stanley returned 15 of their canoes and paid them what he considered a fair price for the one’s he kept. He also released their prisoners.

Abandoned
However at this point, Tippu Tib had had enough, he and his followers would go no further and they determined to return east. He would also take back all the sick and wounded. Now that Stanley had 23 canoes, he felt that they could survive on their own. He made a speech to inspire his expedition: “Into whichever sea this great river empties, there shall we follow it… you have seen that I have saved you a score of times when everything looked dark and dismal for us. If I risk your life, I risk mine. It may be we shall meet a hundred wild tribes yet who, for the sake of eating us, will rush to fight us. We have no wish to molest them. If they fight us, we must accept it as an evil, like disease, which we cannot help. If we fight, we fight for our lives. We shall continue our journey that we shall toil on and on, by this great river and to the salt sea!”

River Battles
Stanley then declared a three day holiday in honour of Christmas 1876, with feasting, dancing and canoe races. Each of the captured canoes were given names such as: Livingstone, Herald, Telegraph, Mtesa… Then with the entire expedition on the river they rowed forwards. Soon drums and war horns warned them of imminent attack. Eager young warriors with painted bodies and grotesquely adorned with the skins of wild animals screamed “Meat! Meat!” as they massed for attack. Stanley wrote that it must have appeared that they were a herd of ownerless cattle straying amongst the starving. He described their attackers as “the living embodiment of hatred”.

Shields for the Fight
In order to protect his people, Stanley instructed his men to collect shields after every battle. These were used to bulwark the canoes making them look something like the galleys of the ancient Vikings. By this stage all distinctions between pagazi (carriers) and askari (soldiers) had vanished. Every man both rowed and fought. Those who did not have guns captured spears and threw them back at the next hostile tribe that attacked.

Besieged
At one point the expedition was attacked from both sides of the river simultaneously. The attackers were painted half white and half red with broad black stripes. One war canoe was 85 feet long. As they targeted the Lady Alice, Stanley had his men fire a volley into the attackers. As the survivors leapt overboard, this massive canoe was captured and incorporated into the expedition’s transport. Amidst the pounding of the drums, the screaming of the attackers and the noise of battle came the ominous roar of a waterfall ahead. Attacked from both sides, and with an obviously high waterfall ahead of them, they were faced with a dilemma: drowning, or being eaten by cannibals.

Stanley Falls
Stanley determined to establish a beachhead and fight. They built a stockade and fought until sunset and through the night. Stanley scouted ahead and established that this was only the first of a series of cataracts. (Today the seven cataracts are called Stanley Falls.) It took a month of hard fighting to carry their canoes and kit past each of the waterfalls, fighting off hostile attacks in the dense jungle. By a series of bold attacks and outflanking manouvres Stanley required his men to sometimes be fighting for 72 hours straight without respite. At one point Stanley surprised the attackers by capturing their village and holding their chief hostage, until peace had been established.

Hunted by Cannibals
Stanley described the Iron Age culture in the Congo at that time: baskets, fishnets, bundles of wooden spears with iron points. Human skulls ornamented the village streets and human ribs, thigh bones and vertebrae lay scattered around the huts. At one point they found themselves surrounded by a huge net and a mass of men with spears, hunting them like game. Sometimes their path had sharp pointed traps designed to injure or cripple them. The prisoners they captured had the filed sharpened teeth of cannibals and rows of ugly tattoo marks on their foreheads. He learned that when these cannibals were unable to capture strangers, they ate their own old men and women.

Overcoming all Obstacles
Attacks came thick and fast and sometimes with such intensity, and in such huge numbers, that, had they not been prepared, they would have been overwhelmed. Savage screams filled the jungle and the drums were seldom silent. Finally, after a torturous month, the seventh and last waterfall was bypassed and with the Congo River a mile wide, they re-launched their boats. There was tremendous exhilaration amongst the expedition as they felt that the worst was behind them, but they were soon to learn that the worst was still ahead.

In the Shadow of Death
Attacks increased in intensity, poisoned arrows were shot at them at any time of the day or night. They felt like hunted animals. Stanley rose to the occasion, clear-headed and calm in battle, confident that God was protecting him and that he was destined to complete his mission of ending the slave trade in Africa. By now his men had been hardened by travel and conflict and united into an effective fighting force and efficient team. After a long series of battles and skirmishes, they faced one of their most desperate battles on 1 February 1877.

Confrontation
Warned by great shouting and thunderous beating of drums they came around a bend, close to where the Aruwimi River joins the Congo. A fleet of gigantic canoes, bigger than anything they had ever seen before, blocked their way. He formed up his boats in a battle line and with the Lady Alice 50 yards ahead they confronted 54 battle canoes. The largest canoe had 80 paddlers. As the monster canoe aimed straight for the Lady Alice, Stanley encouraged his men: “Be firm as I am. Wait until you see the first spear, and then take good aim. Do not fire all at once. Keep aiming until you are sure of your man.”

Charging the Enemy
As the monster canoe discharged a broadside of arrows, Stanley and his men opened fire. The enemy retreated out of range to re-form for another attack. Stanley decided to pre-empt them by launching his own attack. In hot pursuit Stanley’s men forced their attackers’ withdrawal into a rout. When the attackers made for shore, Stanley’s men pursued them and chased them through their village and into the jungle.

Idolatry and Cannibalism
At the village they found a Meskiti, temple, where the large circular roof was supported by 33 tusks of ivory erected over an idol four feet high and painted bright red. This was the focus of worship of the Basoko Tribe. There were numerous skulls mounted on poles, a half-eaten human forearm and ribs on the fire.

Perseverance
By this point the expedition had travelled 340 miles north since leaving Nyangwe. This battle at the Aruwimi River mouth was their 28^th battle in the Congo. 79 people had died on the expedition, so far. They were still in the middle of the continent and the exploration of the Congo River was not close to half completed. They still had a very long way to go, but Stanley was determined to never turn back. He kept up all details in his journal, writing “I persist…trusting events to an all gracious providence.”

Trade
Storms threatened the canoes with destruction. A chronic shortage of food threatened starvation. However, at this point they found friendly natives in the region of Rubunga, who were willing to trade food for wire and beads. Like the other tribes they encountered in the Congo, these people were elaborately tattooed. They had never seen a white man before, but they had in their possession, 4 antique Portuguese muskets which had been traded for slaves. This greatly disturbed Stanley, as it indicated that he may begin encountering hostile tribes armed with muskets. His expedition’s 20 rifles and 20 muskets would be inadequate if confronted by a large number of hostiles armed with firearms.

Under Fire
The next tribe down the river, the Urangi, were also friendly and willing to trade so that the men of Stanley’s expedition began to hope that they were emerging from the heart of darkness and entering into the outskirts of civilisation. However, shortly after this a shot rang out from an Urangi canoe and one of Stanley’s men from Zanzibar fell dead from a ball fired from a musket. A few days later on 14 February, the expedition was attacked by the most militant tribe on the Congo, the Bangala. The Bangala were the most brilliantly decorated warriors they had yet encountered. Their war cries resounded as their canoes advanced towards Stanley’s men. Holding cloth in one hand and a coil of brass wire in the other, Stanley offered trade and peace. He had been told that the Bangala like to trade, but they actually liked to fight more. The battle continued throughout the afternoon. Stanley counted 63 war canoes opposing them, each with an average of 5 muskets. That was over 300 guns against 40. The Bangala were skilful and aggressive. However, after a 5 hour battle, the Bangala retreated.

Through the Fire
This was Stanley’s 31^st battle on the Congo. Very few professional soldiers have fought as many battles in a lifetime as Stanley fought in just 4 months. Incredibly, although Stanley was in the forefront of every battle, standing in the prow of the Lady Alice, he came through every battle unscathed.

More Cataracts
Three day later they reached a lake which was named Stanley Pool. At this point they had travelled 1,235 miles since leaving Nyangwe. Ahead of them were 32 cataracts. Many canoes were lost and injuries incurred as the boats were laboriously hauled overland past each cataract. At one point Stanley fell 30 feet into a chasm, but miraculously escaped with only minor injuries. Their largest canoe, the Crocodile, was swept over a waterfall with the loss of 7 men, including his adopted son, Kalulu. This cataract was then named Kalulu Falls.

Obstacle Marathon
The cataracts and rapids were so numerous that the team developed a standard routine for transporting canoes and kit past them. A dangerous whirlpool was only narrowly escaped. When the Lady Alice survived going over a waterfall and somehow remaining afloat, this was named the Lady Alice Rapids. From 16 March to 21 April the expedition travelled only 34 miles in 37 days.

Superstitious Fears
At one point, local, until then friendly, natives advanced on the camp with muskets, spears, poisoned arrows and shrill war cries. Stanley asked them why they approached in such an aggressive fashion? Their reply was that they had seen the white man writing in a book. They demanded that he destroy his book because it was a bad omen and it meant that their goats would die!

To Burn or Not to Burn
As Stanley had filled his journal with invaluable geographical calculations, sketches, and details on tribes, languages and villages encountered, he could not sacrifice the fruit of all their trials and exploration. Nevertheless he was compelled to agree to burn the offending book. Stanley went to his tent and pulled out his well worn edition of Shakespeare. As this was a similar size and had the same cover as his journal, the natives did not realise the switch. They left with satisfaction when the book was burned to ashes.

Another Blow
By now their shoes were worn through and Stanley and the sole remaining European on the expedition, Frank Pocock, were reduced to wearing makeshift sandals. Ulcers and sores had developed on the souls of their feet. At another waterfall the last remaining European companion of Stanley, was lost. Trying to steer around a treacherous whirlpool, Frank Pocock, the sole surviving European member of Stanley’s expedition was lost.

Mutiny
Most of the men on the expedition fell into dark despair after this accident. After all the diseases, battles, struggles against nature, heat, exhaustion and strain, the men threatened mutiny. 31 attempted to desert, but local chiefs would not allow them to pass through their territory. Soon the mutineers had to return and Stanley attempted to inspire his tired, hungry and discouraged men.

Pressing On
In the next month they travelled only 3 miles. Another 3 cataracts remained ahead. The tribes were sullen and uncooperative, unwilling to trade any food. All on expedition were wasting away for lack of nourishment. There were only 116 people left on the expedition and 40 were seriously ill. As they were apparently only a few miles from Boma, where there were European settlers, Stanley sent messengers ahead requesting emergency food supplies. 2 Days later this messenger returned with pagazis bearing food and a message of welcome from the Europeans at Boma. This gave them strength to walk the remaining 3 days.

Success
On 9 August 1877, 999 days after their departure from Zanzibar, they were welcomed back to civilisation by 4 white men who treated them to a banquet in Boma. They were then transported to Cabinda and a ship carried them to Luanda, where they boarded another ship to Cape Town. There Stanley was welcomed and honoured while his ship anchored in the bay. A British warship then carried the explorers from Cape Town to Zanzibar.

Against All Odds
Of the 359 people who had left Bagamoyo, with Stanley three years before, only 82 returned to Zanzibar with him. 58 had been killed in battles with the cannibals in the Congo. 49 had died from smallpox. 9 had starved to death. 14 had drowned. Typhoid, fever, crocodiles and other causes accounted for the rest. Never before, nor since, has any African expedition accomplished so much. Stanley had surveyed the great lakes of Victoria and Tanganyika, and the world’s second longest river, the Congo. He had succeeded in exploring and mapping more territory than the explorations of Burton, Speke, Grant, Baker and even Livingstone. The political and commercial implications of his geographical discoveries were immense. Stanley was only 37 years old when he completed his expedition from coast to coast, from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean across the heart of Africa.

Commerce and Civilization
Of all the great explorers, Stanley alone followed up his explorations by developing an empire. He determined to “pour the civilisation of Europe into the barbarian of Africa.” Commerce would be used to bring Christianity and culture to the Congo. He described isolation as the great curse of Central Africa. European missionaries and businessmen needed to open up the great continent to civilisation and free the Africans from animism, superstition, slavery, intertribal wars and cannibalism. The 1,425,000 square miles of the Congo River basin were comparable to the Mississippi and the Amazon. The 3,000 miles of the Congo River poured 12 million cubic feet of water into the Atlantic Ocean every second. It had a tremendous potential for hydroelectric power. Africa could be freed by civilising the Congo.

Honours and Awards
In January 1878, Stanley was welcomed to Europe by representatives of King Leopold II, of the Belgians. King Umberto of Italy sent him an award. The Khedive of Egypt sent him a medal. All the geographic societies awarded Stanley gold medals. The Prince of Wales paid him tribute. Governments throughout Europe honoured him and the Congress in the United States passed a unanimous Vote of Thanks for his achievements. Stanley was now the most famous African explorer alive. Just 4 months after his return he submitted his manuscript for Through the Dark Continent, which in more than a thousand pages, catalogued his incredible journey.

Establishing the Congo Free State
In November 1878, King Leopold of the Belgians personally requested Stanley to lead a venture to create a Congo Free State. In May 1879, Stanley arrived back at the mouth of the Congo River with less than 100 men determined to bring civilisation to millions of the most savage people on earth, living in one of the world’s most remote and inhospitable regions. The debilitating furnace-like climate and dense jungles, treacherous rivers, and myriads of insects carrying fatal diseases, did not dampened the enthusiasm and vision of Stanley to bring civilisation to the Congo. For five and a half years he laboured to achieve this despite overwhelming frustrations. His efforts in the Congo earned him the name: “Bula Matari” (breaker of rocks).

A Man of Iron Will
Stanley had a reputation amongst his officers as a hard man. But his response was: “One is not likely to be hard with persons who perform their duties; but it is difficult to be mild, or amiable with people who are absolutely incapable, and who will not listen to admonition, without bristling with resentment.” He was described as a man of iron, a man of courage, of dogged will and a splendid leader. But while he was respectful of the customs, traditions and beliefs of the Africans, he was considered harsh to his fellow Europeans. As one man said: Stanley had no real friends, but many enemies: “However long you might know him, I doubt you will ever become his friend.” Stanley could not understand, and had little use for, those who held their duty more lightly than he did. To him duty was everything. He did not play cards, or any other game, but only read for recreation.

Civilizing the Congo
Stanley negotiated over 400 treaties with the once war-like tribes along the Congo River. These became the foundations of the Congo Free State. Peace, order, progress and industrious work followed in his wake. He established five stations stretching over 450 miles inland and launched a steamer and sail boat on the upper Congo (above Stanley Pool). A road was built between Viva and Isangila. Even the wild and war-like Bangala made treaties with Bula Matari. Through his perseverance, diplomacy, patience and understanding of the tribes of the Congo, he brought civilisation to the tattooed and naked savages who had lived in barbarous depravity and cannibalism for centuries.

Life and Liberty
Stanley was hailed worldwide as the emancipator who ended the rampant inter-tribal slavery and Arab slave trade which had plundered the Congo for centuries. By the time his 5 years in the Congo was completed, Stanley had built a line of garrison stations for 1,400 miles up the Congo, established peace between tribes that had been in constant warfare for generations. He had established a far reaching political and commercial organisation, built roads and railways, launched two steamers on the upper Congo and three on the lower Congo, bringing peace, commerce and law to a land that had once been wild and lawless. Missionaries and traders were venturing up the river and establishing trading posts and mission stations where no one would have thought it possible, just a few short years before.

General Charles Gordon
Stanley’s choice of a successor was General Charles Gordon, who was en-route to take over from Stanley when the Mahdi’s rebellion in the Sudan forced him to change his plans and head for his fatal date with destiny in Khartoum.

The Belgian Congo
Stanley regretted that many of his ideals and the principles of David Livingstone, which he had sought to honour, were betrayed by the men who followed him. In 1910, King Leopold persuaded the Belgian government to take responsibility for administering the Congo.

The Emin Pasha Expedition
Incredibly, that was not the end of the African adventures of Henry Morton Stanley. He later crossed Africa from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean to rescue one of General Gordon’s governors, Emin Pasha. That epic of endurance started out with an expedition of 708 men, and ended with 196. 512 died enroute. The afflictions, diseases and battles endured on the Emin Pasha rescue compare with Stanley’s exploration of the Congo. Stanley and his men were welcomed to German East Africa in Bagamoyo by the guns of the German warships in the harbour which boomed out a salute to this epic explorer. He then wrote: “In Darkest Africa” (903 pages).

Uganda Mission
He noted one of the most encouraging aspects of this Trans African expedition was visiting the Mission station of Rev. Alexander MacKay in Usambiro in Uganda. MacKay had been in Africa for 12 years, in response to Stanley’s urgent plea for missionaries after the conversion of Kabaka Mtesa. Stanley described MacKay as “the best missionary since Livingstone.”

Railways for Freedom
Stanley observed that the virtues of civilisation never seemed so clear as when he was in the jungle. The wilds of Africa never seemed so pleasant as when he was in the midst of civilisation. Stanley met with England’s Prime Minister, William Gladstone, and urged him to build a railroad from Mombasa on the East African coast to the shore of Lake Victoria to help suppress the slave trade.

Marriage and Parliament
At the age of 49, less than 3 months after his return to England, from this last great African expedition, he married the talented and beautiful Dorothy Tennant at Westminster Abbey, 12 July 1890. Dorothy Tennant was a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. Stanley received honourary degrees from Edinburgh, Halle, Durham, Oxford and Cambridge. He conducted lecture tours of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. In 1895, he was elected a Member of Parliament for North Lambeth, London. But he was a man of action, not a politician. He accomplished far more by his writings than by his speeches in Parliament. His book: Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa was effective in mobilising the political will and action necessary to finally crush the last remnants of that vile trade in Africa.

A Man with a Mission
In his autobiography, he wrote: “Those to whom… I venture to consign the secret hopes and interests of my heart, invariably betrayed me… I learned by experience that there was no love for me, born, so to say fatherless, spurned and disowned by my mother, beaten almost to death by my teacher and guardian, fed on the bread of bitterness, how was I to believe in love?… But I was not sent into the world to be happy, nor to search for happiness. I was sent for a special work.”

Mission Accomplished
In 1897, he paid his last visit to Africa to take part in the ceremonies opening the Bulawayo railway station in Southern Rhodesia. His last book was: Through South Africa, published in 1898. In 1899, at the age of 58, Stanley was knighted by the Queen. He died 10 May 1904 at 63 years old. He was the most famous convert of Dr. David Livingstone, one of the greatest explorers of all time and one of the most effective campaigners against the slave trade. His 1874 to 1877 Trans Africa Exploit was the most outstanding achievement in all the history of the exploration of Africa. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2