Punch: Punch (75.1878)

10 PUNCH, OU THE LONDON CHAEIVAEI. [July 13, 187

I had come on board in disguise, so as to prevent an ovation, and from my
steerage-turret I saw thick sticks waving, white fists shaking, white faces
looking very long and sad, and more-or-less white hands flourishing strips of
paper of all sorts and sizes (my people had been lavish in their orders at the
seaport-town where we had been staying previous to departure), as, removing
my red wig and whiskers, trick nose, and spectacles, I stood on the top-gallant-
poop, and scarcely able to control my emotion, as I bade a long farewell to Old
England, I murmured, in a breaking voice,

" Cheer, boys, cheer ! Whatever is, is right!
Cheer, boys, cheer! My native land, good night! "

And so we sailed out into the deep, deep sea; and as the thought crossed us
all, that, though "lost to sight, we were to memory uncommonly dear," a
gentle, placid smile of contentment illumined our features, for we knew then
that, once on the voyage to which we had vowed our lives and devoted our
energies, no one of those whom we had left behind, would see us again until
our return,-—and, perhaps, not even then.

There were no hurrahs from the crowd, so I cheered myself, with the con-
soling thought, " I am going for Stanley ! "

Part I.—Chapter II.

Jarnziri-bar—Inhabitants—-Scenery—Engagements— Useful People—Departure
—Awagogo—Arrival—Intervieiv—First Attempts at Civilisation— Ventrilo-
quial Failure—Flight—A Friendly Reception.

Once more at Jarnziri-bar. Most of the lively inhabitants were out prac-
tising at the bar. I made a sketch on the spot. All here is new and fresh to

N H A £ ITA N T »S - » 0 F -

"l^ -» /Native . OPEhIJ^C - A -CASE-

those who have never seen it before, and everything on the Jarnziri-bar Coast
is thoroughly novel to those who have never previously encountered anything
of the sort.

But a great change has taken place since I was last here. All the " bars," of
which Jarnziri-bar was the principal, have been considerably altered, and one,
Dempulbar, has almost entirely disappeared.

The younger female portion of the population, i.e. the Sorcibar-maids, come
chiefly from the Swilli Isles.

To the wanderer, jaded with the regularity of civilisation, what a contrast
does not the scenery of Central Africa offer! The eye travels upward from
the level flats to the hills, and downwards as the verdant elevations decline
towards the exotic fragrance of the luxurious meadows. Jack-boot trees loom
up with their great yellow gambogeous tops, rare gums give relief to the white
tooth-brush-wood, while, stretching away into the blue distance, which seems
farther and farther off as it reaches f or^thousands of miles towards the sea, may
be seen the wonderful land of U'umbugu, the green verdant country of the
Uuoemas, while to the left are the extensive preserves of King Jinja, and on
the right the magnificent grazing meadows of the equestrian, but horsetile tribe
of Mijeejee.

_ Here all is peace, and happiness, and quiet, as the idle traveller, willing to
yield himself up captive to the beautiful visions expanding before him, sinks
down slowly on a spur of land, that makes him start up again sharply as
though he were reminded of his duty by a voice from the Spur-rit Land, saying,

Squat not, but forwards ! "

At Jarnziribar I engaged a native detective, who undertook to find Stanley,
if anyone could. His name was M'yionytj. Also, I secured the services of a
Dark night-porter, a Light porter (to carry a lantern when necessary), a sarcastic
native servant, who was a little porter and a trifle bitter—a sort of half-and-
half caste,—a dumb waiter, two chairmen (who would be useful when any of
my people were out of order), and three native committee men (with power
to add to their number, which I had taken on hiring them), a supply of
telephones, phonographs, microphones, pocket-telescopes, a musical-box slightly
damaged, and a trumpet. I managed most fortunately to pick up a most

respectable middle-aged man, who, he informed me, had
been a Polytechnic Lecturer, and having once wandered
away from his subject, had come out there by accident.
He had with him a few bottles of explosive gas, some

magnesium wire, and a few interesting experiments of a
fireworky character still in his bag; he could give a first-
rate show of the animalculge contained in a drop of
Thames Avater (always a safe hit), besides a dissolving
view of the Home of Milton, Salisbury Cathedral by
Moonlight, Mount Vesuvius in a state of eruption, and a
comic slide of the Devil and the Baker. Besides this he
knew, from having been professionally engaged in that
line, most of the usual evening entertainer s tricks, and
could do the pancake in the hat, and the ring in the
orange; while his ventriloquism,—giving the man in the
cellar singing a comic song, the eccentric burglar in the
chimney getting fainter and fainter,—was simply perfect.
He possessed several packs of cards. At first he did
not much relish travelling in company with M'yionytj,
the detective, but when he found the latter totally un-
able to discover any one of his tricks, his confidence was
restored. I made my own reflections on M'yionyu's
conduct on this occasion, and complimented myself, pri-
vately, on jhaving engaged two men who would be most
useful to me, and so invaluable with regard to each
other.

The next morning, we obtained a conveyance from
one of the Jarnziribar residents, and drove down to the
back coast, whence the Arhadia set sail for the Iveep-it-
dark Continent, amid the thousand good wishes of the
people of Sorcibar and Swilli, for our speedy and safe
departure.

After quitting Wytchoka village (the missionary set-
tlement), we launched the Arhadia, and arrived at
Awagogo, where we found it impossible to stay, in con-
sequence of the animosity displayed towards our party
by the chief, Dontwantchtj. The fact is, his faith m
us was shaken by our weak-minded Ventriloquist, who,
having a cold in his head, and a pain in that part of the
human frame where his power of speaking is supposed
to be located (ventrilocated), stupidly attempted to sup-
ply the defect of nature by a touch of inferior art.
When asked to do "theman under the table having his
tooth out" (the patient is supposed to have secreted him-
self under the table, in order to get away from the
dentist), he didn't, like a man, refuse, and explain why,
but, after considerable delay, he proceeded with the
entertainment, which puzzled the savages immensely, and
they were all preparing to "shell" out—their currency
is in shells, for which other and simpler tribes give gold
in exchange—when their chief, Dontwantchtj, who had