1883. s ix so u ls h a v e b e e n d o n e to d e a th to o b ta in t h a t sm a ll,
Nov. 27. .
Yomburri. fe e b le , u se le s s c h ild !
These are my thoughts as I look upon the horrible
scene. Every second during which I regard them the
clink of fetters and chains strikes upon my ears. My
eyes catch sight of that continual lifting of the hand to
ease the neck in the collar, or as it displays a manacle
exposed through a muscle being irritated by its weight,
or want of fitness. My nerves are offended with the
rancid effluvium of the unwashed herds within this
human kennel. The smell of other abominations annoy
me in that vitiated atmosphere. For how could poor
people, bound and riveted together by twenties, do
otherwise than wallow in filth! Only the old women
are taken out to forage; they dig out the cassava
tuber, and search for the banana, while the guard,
with musket ready, keenly watches for the coming pf
the vengeful native. Not much food can be procured
in this manner, and what is obtained is flung down in
a heap before each gang, to at once cause an unseemly
scramble. Many of these poor things have been already
months fettered in this manner, and their bones stand
out in bold relief in the attenuated skin, which hangs
down in thin wrinkles and puckers. And yet, who
can withstand the feeling of pity so powerfully, pleaded
for by those large eyes and sunken cheeks ?
What was the cause of all this vast sacrifice of
human life, of all this unspeakable misery ? Nothing,
but the indulgence of an old Arab’s “ wolfish, bloody,
starred, and ravenous instincts.” He wished to obtain
slaves to barter profitably away to other Arabs,
and having weapons-guns and gunpowder—enough, Yomtarn.
he: placed them in the hands of three hundred slaves,
and despatched them to commit murder wholesale, just
as an English nobleman would put guns, in the hands
of his guests, and permit them to slaughter the game
upon his estate. If we calculate three quarts of blood
to each person who fell during the campaign of murder,
we find that this one Arab caused to be shed 2850
gallons of human blood, sufficient to fill a tank measurement
of 460 cubic feet, quite large enough to have
drowned him and all his k in !
I now understood why the Basoko of the Biyerre
were so gleeful when they heard we were about to ascend
the Congo. Their talk about the Bahunga was that
of people bewildered by the suddenness, of the attack
upon them, who seized upon the first name uttered to
them. They hoped, of course, that we would mutually
destroy one another, and thus they would be relieved
from their fears.
We. exchanged gifts with Karema and his bloodstained
confederates. We also obtained guides from
them to speak for us to the people at the Falls, and
being in a hurry to leave such dreadful scenes, we
departed next morning, the 28th, for the cataract.
Yangambi, which we said was occupied by the Arab
slave-traders, is beautifully situated on a level terrace,
at the foot of the Tugurambusa ridge, which runs
parallel with the Congo for a length of eight miles.
The summits of the ridge, which are at an altitude of