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by circumnavigating the lake."
So the Lady Alice was launched, and from the shores of Speke Gulf, as he named the southern end, the
explorer set forth, leaving the two remaining Englishmen in charge of the camp.
"The sky is gloomy," writes Stanley, "the rocks are bare and rugged, the land silent and lonely. The rowing of
the people is that of men who think they are bound to certain death; their hearts are full of misgivings as
slowly we move through the dull dead waters." The waters were not dead for long. A gale rose up and the lake
became wild beyond description. "The waves hissed as we tore along, the crew collapsed and crouched into
the bottom of the boat, expecting the end of the wild venture, but the Lady Alice bounded forward like a wild
courser and we floated into a bay, still as a pond."
CHAPTER LXVIII 221
So they coasted along the shores of the lake. Their guide told them it would take years to sail round their sea,
that on the shores dwelt people with long tails, who preferred to feed on human beings rather than cattle or
goats. But, undaunted, the explorer sailed on, across the Napoleon Channel, through which flowed the
superfluous waters of the lake rushing northward as the Victoria Nile. "On the western side of the Channel is
Uganda, dominated by an Emperor who is supreme over about three millions of people. He soon heard of my
presence on the lake and dispatched a flotilla to meet me. His mother had dreamed the night before that she
had seen a boat sailing, sailing like a fish-eagle over the Nyanza. In the stern of the boat was a white man
gazing wistfully towards Uganda."
On reaching the port a crowd of soldiers, "arrayed in crimson and black and snowy white," were drawn up to
receive him. "As we neared the beach, volleys of musketry burst out from the long lines. Numerous kettles
and brass drums sounded a noisy welcome, flags and banners waved, and the people gave a great shout."
[Illustration: STANLEY AND HIS MEN MARCHING THROUGH UNYORO. From a sketch, by Stanley, in
Through the Dark Continent.]
Such was Stanley's welcome to M'tesa's wonderful kingdom of Uganda, described by Speke sixteen years
before. The twelve days spent at the court of this monarch impressed Stanley deeply. Specially was the king
interested in Christianity, and the English explorer told the story of the Creation and the birth of the Messiah
to this intelligent pagan and his courtiers. "Ten days after we left the genial court, I came upon the scene of a
tragedy. We were coasting the eastern side of a large island, having been thirty-six hours without food,
looking for a port where we could put in and purchase provisions. Natives followed our movements, poising
their spears, stringing their bows, picking out the best rocks for their slings. We were thirteen souls, they
between three and four hundred. Seeing the boat advance, they smiled, entered the water, and held out inviting
hands. The crew shot the boat towards the natives; their hands closed on her firmly, they ran with her to the
shore and dragged her high and dry about twenty yards from the lake. Then ensued a scene of rampant
wildness and hideous ferocity of action beyond description. The boat was surrounded by a forest of spears and
two hundred demons contended for the first blow. I sprang up to kill and be killed, a revolver in each hand,
but as I rose to my feet the utter hopelessness of our situation was revealed to me."
To make a long story short, the natives seized the oars, and, thinking the boat was now in their power, they
retired to make their plans. Meanwhile Stanley commanded his crew to tear the bottom boards up for paddles,
and, pushing the boat hastily into the water, they paddled away, their commander firing the while with his
elephant rifle and explosive bullets. They were saved.
On 6th May the circumnavigation was finished and the Lady Alice was being dragged ashore in Speke Gulf
with shouts of welcome and the waving of many flags. But sad news awaited him. He could see but one of his
white companions.
"Where is Barker?" he asked Frank Pocock.
"He died twelve days ago," was the melancholy answer.
Stanley now took his whole expedition to Uganda, and after spending some months with the King he passed
on to Lake Tanganyika, crossing to Ujiji, where he arrived in May 1876. Here five years before he had found
Livingstone.
"We launched our boat on the lake and, circumnavigating it, discovered that there was only a periodical outlet
to it. Thus, by the circumnavigation of the two lakes, two of the geographical problems I had undertaken to
solve were settled. The Victoria Nyanza had no connection with the Tanganyika. There now remained the
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