From the Quarterly Review. A Journey to Ashango-Land and further 6 Under such imputations Mr. Du Chaillu was unwilling to rest, and he resolved to confute his opponents by the logic of facts, that is, by undertaking another journey into the interior of Africa and furnishing himself with materials to prove conclusively the substantial truth of his former narrative It is impossible not to admire the courage and enterprise he has shown, and we think also that he deserves the highest credit for the forgiving and generous tone in which he speaks of his assailants. He says in his Preface to the new work which we propose to review, — was that of better preparing myself for another WHEN Mr. Du Chaillu published, in 1861, his Explorations in Equatorial Africa,' the book met, in several quarters, with an unfavourable, not to say hostile reception. Some of his critics went so far as to assert that the work was a fiction, and that the author had not travelled in the interior of Africa at all. It is not necessary to confute insinuations which nobody now pretends to believe; but we do not deny that the vol- Although hurt to the quick by these unfair ume was open to adverse criticism, and and ungenerous criticisms I cherished no malice that the narrative involved contradictions towards my detractors, for I knew the time which it was difficult to explain. There would come when the truth of all that was eswas a confusion of dates, and also a con- ed would be made clear; I was consoled besential in the statements which had been disputfusion of journeys, which made it difficult sides by the support of many eminent men, to explain some points of the narrative, and who refused to believe that my narrative and certainly the most was made of these dis- observations were deliberate falsehoods. Makcrepancies and mistakes. We who had ex- ing no pretensions to infallibility, any more amined Mr. Du Chaillu's original journals than other travellers, I was ready to acknowlnever doubted for a moment the main truth edge any mistake that I might have fallen into, of his narrative, although we saw that, ow- in the course of compiling my book from my ing to the manipulation of a literary hand rough notes. The only revenge I cherished in preparing bis book in America, his pub- journey into the same region, providing myself lished work mixed together separate jour-with instruments and apparatus which I did not neys, and betrayed a strangely involved possess on my first exploration, and thus being chronology. It was on these grounds that enabled to vindicate my former account by facts the maps drawn up by Dr. Barth and Dr. not to be controverted.' Petermann in 1862 moved all the positions of the places he had visited much nearer the coast than he had fixed them, so as to reduce greatly the length of his routes. We all know how the accounts of the gorilla were discredited by those who had never an opportunity of witnessing the animal's habits, as only one or two stuffed specimens had reached the museums of Europe. Some writers asserted that Mr. Du Chaillu had never seen the animal alive, and that the specimens he brought or sent to England had been purchased by him from natives on the coast. Several naturalists declared that the habits he ascribed to the strange brute such as that of beating its breast violently when enraged were contrary to all experience of the ape tribe, and incredible. Mr. Du Chaillu was the first to make known to geographers the existence of the Fans, a cannibal tribe, who in recent times, have rapidly made their way from the interior, urged by the thirst for trade and European commodities, and have now actually reached the coast. But their very existence was denied; and the statement that some of the native African harps had strings made of vegetable fibre was declared to be false. The result, as regards the establishment of Mr. Du Chaillu's character for veracity, has been most satisfactory; and we set so high a value on the character of every man who labours to enlighten the world, as to deem this one gain not dearly purchased by the heavy losses and bitter disappointments in which Mr. Du Chaillu's second expedition has ended. Meanwhile Dr. Petermann had made the amende honorable with regard to the position of the places which Mr. Du Chaillu had formerly visited; for, in 1862, a French Government expedition, under Messrs. Serval and Griffon Du Bellay, explored the Ogobai River, and not only proved the truth of the traveller's general account of it, but showed that the Ashira Country was not far from the longitude which he had assigned to it. * Dr. Petermann, on receiving the French map, reconstructed his own as Mr. Du Chaillu had originally laid In an article on Le Gabon in Le Tour du Monde' (1865), p. 278, Dr. Griffon Du Bellay says of Mr. Du Chaillu, Ce que je puis affirmer, c'est que son livre contient beaucoup de details d'une parfaite exactitude, et plus d'une peinture de mœurs réellement prisés sur le vif.' interior some unknown western tributary of the Nile, and to descend by it to the great river, and thence to the Mediterranean.' He took great pains to qualify himself for the successful prosecution of his task. Owing to the absence of all scientific instruments on his former journey, he had laid down the positions of places by compass bearings only, and this made it the more difficult to defend himself against attacks on his accuracy. But he now prepared himself by going through a course of instruction in the use of instruments, and the mode of taking astronomical observations. He also took lessons in the art of photography, providing himself with an ample store of materials in order to bring back faithful sunpictures of the scenery, natives, and animals of the unknown regions he intended to explore - all of which, as we shall see in the sequel, were unfortunately lost. it down. As to the Fans, Captain Burton | tific accuracy the geographical position of the confirmed his statement, after having actu- places I had already discovered, and to vindially travelled amongst them; and the cate by fresh observations, and the acquisition French officers proclaim that their cannibal of further specimens, the truth of the remarks I appetites are only too well authenticated, had published on the ethnology and natural hisadding the fact of their recent apparition the vague hope of being able to reach in the far tory of the country. Beyond this there was and migration towards the sea-coast. In his second expedition, Mr. Du Chaillu was not only able to observe the gorilla in the woods, but he obtained several fine specimens from the natives, and one of them he shipped for England alive, but unfortunately it died on the passage. He sent to England harps with vegetable strings, and they of course speak for themselves. In his former travels he had described a new kind of otter-like animal to which the name of Potamogale velox was given; and he brought home with him its skin, which was all that he was then able to procure. It was asserted that the animal which owned the skin did not belong to the order under which otters are classed, and was a rodent; but Mr. Du Chaillu was fortunate enough to have his conjecture entirely established by the Profes or of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh moreover he obtained in his late journey several specimens of the Potamogale, and they entirely confirm his opinion He has answered the doubts and insinuations which were so unscrupulously thrown upon his claims as a discoverer in Natural History, by adding to the Fauna of Africa at least eighty new species. But the best vindication of all is the series of carefullymade solar and lunar observationsamounting to several hundreds — which he has brought home, and committed to the officers of Greenwich Observatory, by whom they have been reduced and tested with the most satisfactory results; so that the principal points of his journey are now laid down on the map with unerring accuracy. Here is enough, and more than enough, to justify the countenance and encouragement which Mr. Du Chaillu received at first from such a geographer as Murchison, and such a naturalist as Owen. As in all similar cases, the stones wantonly, if not maliciously, thrown at an unknown man, have helped to raise the pedestal of his subsequent fame; and were Mr. Du Chaillu less generous than he is, he could afford to forgive the detractors who have goaded him to new efforts, and made him as accurate as he was already earnest in his work. He freighted a small schooner called the Mentor, and sailed in her from England for the coast of Africa on the 6th of August, 1863. He reached the mouth of the Fernand Vaz River on the 10th of October, and it is interesting to see how warmly he was welcomed by the African Chiefs whom he had formerly known. One of them who came on board hugged him in his greasy arms and exclaimed 'Are you Chaillie, or are you his spirit? Have you come from the dead? Tell me quick, for I don't know whether I am to believe my own eyes; perhaps I am getting a fool.' But now came the first of a series of misfortunes which Mr. Du Chaillu had to endure, and which brought his expedition at last to a disastrous end. One of the causes which have shut out explorers from this part of the African coast is the want of harbours, and the savage surf that fringes the shore. The whole breadth of the mouth of the river was one uninterrupted line of breakers, through which it was necessary to land the cargo in native boats. In one of them he placed all his scientific instruments and many other valuable articles. and, accom panied by the Captain, embarked himself in the canoe, which was soon swamped by the waves. It was with some difficulty that 'I had also a strong desire to fix with scien- their lives were saved by the negroes, who, These feelings may be traced in Mr. Du Chaillu's statement of his objects in this second journey: as Mr. Du Chaillu says, swam under me and buoyed me up with their own bodies.' But all the astronomical instruments were spoilt by the salt-water, and with them went the power of effecting the principal object of the journey. We can hardly imagine a nore bitter disappointment than this. However, there was no help for it, and all that he could do was to send to England for a second set of instruments, and to wait patiently until it arrived. The region which Mr. Du Chaillu was about to explore lies between the first and second degrees of south latitude, and he intended to proceed eastward across the continent in almost a straight line from the coast. He says: and infinite was the trouble and difficulty he had with the various relays which succeeded each other in his march. But he was fortunate in his body-guard of ten negroes, of the Commi tribe on the coast, who behaved admirably throughout, and to whom his return in safety was entirely owing. He says: negroes, some of whom had accompanied me 'I chose for my body-guard ten faithful on my former journey. It was on these men that my own safety among the savage and unfriendly tribes we might expect to meet with in the far interior depended. I knew I could thoroughly rely upon them, and that come what might they would never hurt a hair of my head.' While waiting for the arrival of fresh inEquatorial Africa from the western coast, as far as I have been, is covered with an almost struments from England, Mr. Du Chaillu impenetrable jungle. The jungle begins where made several excursions in the neighbourthe sea ceases to beat its continual waves, and hood of the coast. The most important of how much further this woody belt extends fur- these were to the wooded country which ther explorations alone will be able to show. lies to the south-east of Cape St. Catherine, From my furthest point it extended eastward as and which he believes is the head-quarters far as my eyes could reach. I may say, how- of the gorilla or the district in which he exever, that near the banks of a large river run-ists in the greatest number, but where he is ning from a north-east direction towards the south-west prairie lands were to be seen accord ing to the accounts the Ashangos had received.' The difficulties which beset the traveller who tries to penetrate into the interior are almost insuperable. Independently of the harbourless and surf-bound coast, the deadly climate, and the hostility of savage tribes, there is the supposed necessity of carrying an immense quantity of presents to propitiate the different African chiefs. A white man must literally buy his way with goods as he proceeds, and he becomes, of course, poorer as he advances, so that it seems as if he must at last necessarily stop when he is farthest from the coast, and when it is most essential to satisfy the rapacity of the natives. Perhaps the most prudent course would be not to carry presents at all, as they only excite the cupidity of the negroes. And Mr. Du Chaillu was kindly treated by the natives on his return when he had lost everything. For the transport of goods there are no beasts of burden; neither horses nor camels nor asses nor oxen. The only domesticated animals are goats and fowls, and the only carriers of loads are the blacks themselves. They use for this purpose long narrow baskets called otaitais, which rest on the back, and are secured to the head and arm of the bearer by straps made of strong plaited rushes. Mr. Du Chaillu's baggage required at starting not fewer than a hundred porters, wildest and most difficult to get near.' Here suddenly one morning he came upon a party of four of these brutes. They were all busily engaged in tearing down the larger trees. One of the females had opportunity of watching the movements of the a young one following her. I had an excellent impish-looking band. The shaggy hides, the protuberant abdomens, the hideous features of these strange creatures whose forms so nearly resemble man made up a picture like a vision in some morbid dream. In destroying a tree they first grasped the base of the stem with one of their feet, and then with their powerful arms pulled it down, a matter of not much difficulty with so loosely formed a stem as that of the plaintain. They then set upon the juicy heart of the tree at the bases of the leaves and devoured it with great voracity. While eating they made a kind of clucking noise expressive of contentment.' Shortly afterwards, when Mr. Du Chaillu had returned to the mouth of the Fernand Vaz River, three live gorillas were captured by the natives and brought to him. One of these was a large full-grown female, another her baby. the third a vigorous young male. The first two soon died, for the mother had been severely wounded, and her young one only survived her three days. But the male gorilla was christened Tom, and sent on board ship, consigned to Messrs. Baring in London. He died, however, on the passage, most probably of a 'It is the universal rule amongt the coast tribes of West Africa to prevent, if possible, all strangers from penetrating into the interior, even if it be only to the next tribe, through fear that they should lose the exclusive privilege of tribe tries to prevent all strangers from comtrading with these tribes. Indeed, every municating with the tribe next in advance of them.' broken heart, for the species seems to be the clans on the coast had met and passed a untameable, and captivity fills them with law that no Mpongwé (the trading tribe of uncontrollable rage. At a later period of the Gaboon), or white man, should be allowhis journey Mr. Du Chaillu came suddenly ed to ascend the river Fernand Vaz or the in the forest upon a whole group of gorillas Ogobai. disporting themselves amongst the trees, but he did not happen to have his rifle in his hand, and they escaped unharmed. Before quitting the subject, we may mention that he is now of opinion that gorillas and not chimpanzees, as he was formerly inclined to think, were the animals seen and captured by the Carthaginians under Hanno, as related in the Periplus.' 'Even the name "gorilla," given to the animal in the "Periplus," is not very greatly different from its native name at the present day, "ngina " or "ngilla," especially in the indistinct way in which it is sometimes pronounced.' In one of his preliminary excursions he discovered and caught two specimens of a new species of animal called the Ipi or scaly Ant-eater, belonging to the pangolin genus (Manis of Zoologists), which lives in burrows in the earth, or sometimes in the large hollows of colossal trunks of trees that have fallen on the ground. One of their skeletons is now in the collection of the British Museum.* At last, in September, 1864, Mr. Du Chailly had received his new supply of instruments from England, and at the end of that month he started on his exploration into the interior. It will give some idea of the difficulty he had to encounter in the transport of his goods, when we mention that he had no less than forty-seven large chests filled with them, besides ten boxes containing his photographic apparatus and chemicals, and fifty voluminous bundles of miscel laneous articles: in fact, a load for a hundred men. He dressed his body-guard of ten Commi negroes in thick canvas trousers, blue woollen shirts, and worsted caps, and each man had a blanket to keep him warm at night. He had, however, been nearly prevented from setting out on his expedition at all. During his absence in Europe, the chiefs of *The skeleton of another animal, very similar to the Ipi of Mr. Du Chaillu, was brought afterwards to England, and was said to have been found in the neighbourhood of the river Niger. It was described by Dr. Gray in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' April, 1865, under the name of Pholidotus Africanus. Mr. Du Chaillu says The specimen of Pholidotus Africanus, on which the describer of the species founds his measurement, and the skull of which he figured, I have ascertained, by my own examination in the British Museum, is not the one said to be received from the Niger, but the specimen which I sent. The Niger specimen is very much smaller. I mention this, because Dr. Gray, doubtless through inadvertency, has omitted to mention my name at all in connection with the species.' 6 It was necessary to get this law repealed, and in November, 1863, a grand palaver was held on the subject in the village where Mr. Du Chaillu was staying. One of the most important chiefs, called Olenga-Yombi, a notorious drunkard, who presided at the meeting, had been propitiated by the present of a very long blue coat, the tails of which dangled about his ankles when he walked, and a light yellow waistcoat with gilt buttons. The debate took place in the Council-house of the village, a large open shed, where chairs were placed for the principal speakers. The result was that Mr. Du Chaillu was made free of the river, while the Mpongwé trader was still rigorously excluded. The speakers argued that the white man did not go into the interior to trade, but to shoot animals and bring away the skins and bones. Truly,' they said, we do not know what Chaillie has in his stomach to want such things, but we must let him go.' In the beginning of October, 1864, Mr. Du Chaillu started on his journey. He first proceeded in two canoes up the Fernand Vaz river, and then up the Rembo and Ovenga rivers as far as the village of Obindji, where his overland route was to commence. Here the porters assembled who had been sent from the Ashira country by King Olenda to carry the baggage; but instead of a hundred porters, which was the least number required, there were only fifty. He was therefore obliged to send only half of the loads forward, and to wait for the return of the men to carry the other half. A friendly old chief, named Quengueza, who accompanied him from the coast, addressed. the body-guard of Commi negroes before leaving Obindji, and gave them some excel. lent advice. He told them to look up to Chaillie' as their chief, and obey him. He warned them not to touch plantains or ground nuts lying on the road, or in the street of a village, for this showed that it |