every one at Bolobo. No whisper of ill-feeling had
been heard from any one. To emphasise this apparent
friendship, Manga’s chief had exchanged presents with
the station superintendent that morning. TJpiti, the
chief of Itamba, was cracked up to be “ a dear friend
in fact, one of the best fellows in the world.”
Full of wonder at this sudden outbreak, we made
steam again, and proceeded down the river to discover
the truth. Five hundred yards below the station
landing-place we were passing by Manga’s village, and
I had barely time to distinguish my protege, Miyongo,
of Usindi, by the broad-beaded and glittering haft of his
falchion, when a stream of fire was seen issuing from the
hushes near him, and the slugs came peltering briskly
across, some ringing smartly on the steel hull of the
steamer. Presently another shot rang out loudly a few
yards below, the missile of which swept over the bow.
I t appeared to dawn on my mind that all this was a
pre-concerted arrangement. For a moment, I fear that
I did not wholly exempt my own station chief from
some participation in the outbreak. He might have
tampered with these savages from some sinister design
of his own,because he had called-them his dear friends,!
and, if dear friends of his, why not dear friends of ours ?
Absurd as the thought undoubtedly was, we had no
time to discuss it, for the En Avant was in a dangerous
proximity to these ambushed people, and the muskets
roared at us from a long line of sharpshooters hidden
only about fifty yards from us. ‘ We had only six men
aboard, and our rifles had never been used. Arms were)
taken <on board always as a precaution; but during the
four years we had run on the Congo not a single native
had fired at us. However, we soon drew them out and
began to return the fire vigorously into the bushes,
while we charged down river to the rescue of the
steamers. In twenty minutes we met the A.I. A., and
•soon after the Royal, the crews of which related the
narrow escapes they had experienced. One man only
had been wounded in the face by a shot from some
excited bungler amongst the crew.
The steamers were brought up to the station, and
the goods then discharged into a small hut that had
been hastily constructed and placed under guard.
The Royal was then dispatched to Leopoldville to
bring up an artillery officer with a Krupp cannon, and
some fifty charges of ammunition, with which I hoped
by a little fright to make the intractable people of
Bolobo less disposed to include us in their future displays
of spleen.
The reader will have perceived by this that Bolobo
had become noted in our books as an unlucky station. I t
had been established nearly a year at this time, yet it
was in a more backward condition than any other.
Two members of its garrison • had been foully murdered;
a fire then utterly consumed the station and
village with £1500 worth of property; and now we
had what the natives called “ a war.” All the towns of
¡Bolobo were arrayed against us, except Mungolo and
Lingenji, the villages of Ibaka,
After waiting four days, during which no one seemed