A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State | Page 3

formed an excellent guard against
the damp. It is however, necessary to have firearms cleaned and oiled
nearly every day whether used or not.
Clothes of cloth are not necessary. Drill, khaki and flannel are
sufficient with light helmets and plenty of strong boots. It must be
remembered that everything has to be carried by porters. Clothes,
blankets, etc. should be packed in tin boxes with rubber edges so that
when shut they are airtight; tents pack in bales and every article of
furniture should fold up. The whole equipment must be arranged so that
each load is about 50 or 60 lbs and is conveniently shaped for carrying
on the head or shoulder. We were careful to choose the lightest articles,
whenever consistent with strength, and thus our baggage when
completed weighed only a little more than two tons.

All was ready when we left Waterloo at 10.25 a.m. on Friday June 24th
1904 accompanied by Sir Alfred Jones and Sir Ralph Moor who saw us
off at Southampton. The latter has had much experience of Africa and
told some blood-curdling stories of the manners of the natives.
Adulterers used to be punished in a most barbarous way. A youth who
had erred with one of the numerous wives of a Chief, was nailed by the
ears to a tree in the forest and left to starve. Women also were treated
with equal severity and all manner of mutilations were practised. Such
atrocities have of course been suppressed by the Congo Free State.
Having reached Southampton, we went on board the S.S. Leopoldville,
a ship of about 5,000 tons burden, very clean and well-found. She
belongs to the Compagnie maritime belge which runs a ship every third
week from Antwerp and Southampton to Boma and Matadi. We sailed
about 2 p.m. and a savoury smell from the galley reminded us that it
was about seven hours since we had breakfasted.
Some of the passengers were English military officers and miners
bound for the Gold Coast, but most were evidently officials of the
Congo Free State. The conversation soon turned upon the agitation in
Europe against the Congo Government, and it was extraordinary with
what sorrowful indignation the various charges were refuted. This
impressed me greatly at the time for it was in marked contrast with the
indifference shown by an average Englishmen when his country and
methods are abused by foreigners. Probably the explanation is, that we
are so used to unmerited abuse, that we regard it as part of the normal
order of things. The Congo State on the other hand, has only recently
become sufficiently prosperous to attract attention.
One of the passengers dressed as a Catholic Priest, proved a veritable
mine of information. This was Mgr. Derikx, Prefet Apostolique of Uele
in the Upper Congo. He had had five years' experience of the country
and was well versed in all its institutions and ways. Another was a
young military officer, M. Arnold, already of the rank of Commandant,
for he had shown distinguished service in the field--or rather the
forest--and also as an administrator at a State Post. There were also
many other officials, soldiers, lawyers and commercial agents on board.

I determined therefore, to read the various books and reports written
against the Congo--whether the writers had ever been in the country or
not--then to question the officials who had worked there, and finally to
see the actual condition of affairs for myself.
We tumbled about in The Bay of Biscay a little and the motion did not
much aid the digestion of the contents of histories and blue and white
books. A welcome break was therefore made when we reached
Teneriffe on June 29th. It is early afternoon and the view of Santa Crus
from the sea is very beautiful. In the foreground is ultra-marine
coloured water; on shore, bright yellow houses with red roofs dotted
among palms and other foliage of vivid green, and behind all, frowns
the great grey mountain 12,000 feet high. The hills stretching up from
the sea are in many cases terraced for gardens and vineyards and a new
hotel stands out prominently on one side. It is a glorious picture, but if
the eye is delighted as the boat approaches the shore, the nose is
offended immediately on landing. Streets, houses and people near the
harbour are dirty and odoriferous and as the shops are all shut for a
saint's day, the town looks dismal in spite of the bright sun.
After changing some money at the shop of a jew who gave us the
wrong amount and looked injured when we insisted upon the right, we
took an open carriage and drove to the Cathedral. The building is not
imposing from the outside, but is highly gilded within where