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Into Africa Page 35


  King of Wall Street and Bennett hunting companion LEONARD JEROME was famous in his own right. It was his vivacious daughter Jenny, however, who had the greater mark on history. Named after an actress with whom Jerome was infatuated, Jenny Jerome was almost killed as a teenager when James Gordon Bennett, Jr., crashed a coach in which she was riding. She was seventeen when her father went hunting buffalo in the American West. Three years later she married a member of British nobility, Lord Randolph Churchill. Their son Winston, born that year, would eventually become Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II.

  In the days after Livingstone's death, there was still the matter of his children's fiscal security to be resolved. In September 1874, just five months after Livingstone's funeral, Agnes Livingstone discovered a legacy that might have ironically diminished her father's desire to find the source (and therefore be found by Stanley) if he had known of it during his lifetime. As executor of his estate, Agnes was reviewing Livingstone's accounts when she discovered a forgotten sum of two thousand pounds still gathering interest in a local bank. Accounting for interest on that money, and from the postmortem publication of his source journals, Livingstone left his children the modern equivalent of a million dollar estate. They split it equally.

  LIVINGSTONE'S CHILDREN led varied lives. TOM died in Egypt in 1876 at the age of twenty-seven. Cause of death was the blood and tissue affliction bilharzia, which is inflicted through parasitic trematode worms. The disease was contracted during his African childhood. OSWELL moved to Trinidad, where he practiced medicine until his death in 1892. ANNA, Livingstone's youngest child, lived until 1939. Her son John became an African missionary. AGNES, Livingstone's oldest daughter and the child to whom he was closest, married A. L. Bruce, a wealthy Scottish brewery executive. She died in 1912 at the age of fifty-five, the mother of two sons and the owner of a coffee plantation near the Zambezi.

  THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, that single element emanating from the earth, was a mystery that, too, was eventually solved—albeit a century later. Stanley's later journeys suggested Lake Victoria as the source, though it was not. The source was also not the Lualaba River. And there were no Fountains of Herodotus. Rather, satellite photography would show that the Nile bubbles from the ground high in the mountains of Burundi, halfway between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria. In their own unique ways, the theories of Burton, Speke, Baker, and Livingstone were all partially correct.

  Notes

  From a research point of view, Stanley and Livingstone's era was ideal. The days of nautical exploration had largely passed, and with it the sailor's crisp, mostly emotionless, journal entry. Stanley, Livingstone, Burton (and to a lesser extent, Speke), Baker, and Cameron wrote lengthy daily passages that provided a glimpse of the land around them and of their inner emotions. Livingstone's Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, Zambezi Expedition of Dr. David Livingstone, and The Last Journals of Dr. David Livingstone allowed me to express Livingstone's feelings, thoughts, and heartfelt prayers in his words. The same was true of Stanley's How I Found Livingstone, My Early Travels and Adventures in America, Through the Dark Continent, and The Autobiography of Henry Morton Stanley. In Stanley's case, the emotions set forth in his books were often revised from his more honest journal entries. When given a choice between Stanley's public accounts and his private journals, I relied on the latter. In all chapters referencing Stanley or Livingstone, their own writing was the primary source. For this reason, I have used their spelling (for place names, tribes, etc.) in lieu of colloquial spellings.

  Another great bastion of research was newspapers. Thanks to the proliferation of daily papers during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and also to Stanley's profession, it was possible to trace the story's arc (from world politics to local weather) through the pages of the Times of London, New York Herald, Bath Chronicle, New York Times, Manchester Guardian, and assorted other publications.

  The Royal Geographical Society has long been scrupulous about documenting its activities. Their various internal publications—records, proceedings, etc.—proved richly informative.

  As for the distances between Stanley and Livingstone, those were arrived at through the use of Microsoft's Encarta Virtual Globe distance measuring system. The measurements are as accurate as approximation would allow, based on latitude and longitude notations from personal journals, or from specific towns and villages on maps.

  As with all writing, there is no substitute for first-person experience. So while I couldn't walk alongside Stanley or Livingstone, I could retrace their path and visit the places that were important to this story: London, New York, Paris, Denver, the East African coast, across Africa to Lake Tanganyika, Tabora, and Ujiji.

  The backbone of this book, then, is the compilation of journals, letters, newspapers, and personal travels listed above. A more detailed reference to sources follows.

  PROLOGUE: Livingstone: Alan Moorehead's The White Nile (particularly for baraka), James Morris's brilliant Heaven's Command, Norman R. Bennett's Arab Versus European Studies in East African History, General History of Africa, Wilfred Noyce's excellent and underrated The Springs of Adventure, Reginald Coupland's The Exploitation of East Africa, Phyllis Martin and Patrick O'Meara's Africa, and Timothy Holmes's Journey to Livingstone.

  Stanley: Two excellent books stand above all Stanley biographies. The first is Stanley: The Making of an African Explorer (1841–1877). The second is Dark Safari: The Life Behind the Legend of Henry Morton Stanley. Both were used as references for this chapter. Also, Davies's Ten Days on the Plains and Dee Brown's The American West and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Norman R. Bennett's Stanley's Despatches to the New York Herald.

  CHAPTER ONE: Due to a great deal of erroneous published information on the Nile Duel, much of this chapter relies on eyewitness accounts via newspaper stories and Royal Geographical Society records in an attempt to set the record straight. The works on Speke and Burton listed in the bibliography (in particular, Edward Rice's thorough and readable Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: A Biography, and Alexander Maitland's Speke) were used extensively. Heaven's Command, Journey to Livingstone, The White Nile, H. G. Adams's David Livingstone, Livingstone's Last Journey by Reginald Coupland, Isabel Burton's Life of Sir Richard Burton, and To the Farthest Ends of the Earth by Ian Cameron. Simpson's Dark Companions provided information on Bombay's life. As an aside, the 1989 Bob Rafelson film Mountains of the Moon is an entertaining, mostly accurate portrayal of Burton and Speke's battles.

  CHAPTER TWO: David Livingstone by C.S. Nicholls. Also, Adams, Coupland, Holmes.

  CHAPTER THREE: In addition to Stanley's accounts of his time in Turkey, McLynn, Bierman, and Norman R. Bennett's Stanley's Despatches to the New York Herald all offer thorough investigations of that boondoggle. For information on the American West, Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and The American West.

  CHAPTER FOUR: The RGS archives, which hold Young's original letters to Murchison and original Society orders, were invaluable. Of books, Young's In Search of Livingstone is the definitive tome, and goes into much more detail than his report to the Royal Geographical Society. For information on the Zulu, Morris's Heaven's Command was thorough and entertaining. Also, Coupland, Adams. Phil Kennington, formerly of the Royal Marines, provided invaluable insights to life on Her Majesty's yacht. Rawlinson's comments on Murchison's character are taken from his 1872 president's address.

  CHAPTER FIVE: McLynn, Bierman, Brown, the New York Times, Don Seitz's The James Gordon Bennetts, Allen Oliver's New York, New York, Mike Wallace and Edwin G. Burrows's Gotham: A History of New York to 1898, Richard O'Connor's The Scandalous Mr. Bennett.

  CHAPTER SIX: Holmes, Nicholls, James Currey's General History of Africa, Robert Stock's Africa South of the Sahara, Coupland's East Africa and Its Invaders, John Spencer Trimingham's Islam in East Africa, Abdul Sheriff's Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar, Stanley Engerman's Slavery, Martin and O'Meara's Africa, and Robert A. Stafford's brilliant
Scientist of Empire: Sir Roderick Murchison, Scientific Exploration and Victorian Imperialism.

  CHAPTER SEVEN: McLynn, Bierman, Byron Farwell's The Man Who Presumed, Bennett's Stanley's Despatches to the New York Herald, Don Seitz's The James Gordon Bennetts, Allen Oliver's New York, New York, Mike Wallace and Edwin G. Burrows's Gotham: A History of New York to 1898, Richard O'Connor's The Scandalous Mr. Bennett, Herman Melville's Battle Pieces, Bennett's Studies in East African History, and Morris.

  CHAPTER EIGHT: Holmes, Adams.

  CHAPTER NINE: Stafford, Stephen Linwood's A History of London, Sally Mitchell's Daily Life in Victorian England, Patrick O'Brian's Joseph Banks: A Life, Tom Hiney's On the Missionary Trail, Morris, Cameron, Holmes, Moorehead. Also, Hugh Robert Mill's The Record of the Royal Geographical Society, 1830–1930, for Rawlinson's obituary remarks on Murchison's character.

  CHAPTER TEN: In addition to Livingstone's journals, Cameron's Across Africa was vital in providing physical descriptions of the land west of Lake Tanganyika: the Great Congo Forest, the rites of cannibalism in the Manyuema region, and the odd body odor produced from those eating human flesh and animal carrion. Also, Holmes, Nicholls, Stafford, Adams, Daniel Liebowitz's The Physician and the Slave Trade.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: The primary source of all dialogue in the Stanley-Bennett encounter comes directly from Stanley's How I Found Livingstone. McLynn, Farwell, Moorehead, Coupland, Seitz, O'Connor. The staff at the Grand Hotel in Paris, which is still very much in business, were most helpful in confirming the exact location of Bennett's suite.

  CHAPTER TWELVE: The Gladstone Diaries: With Cabinet Minutes and Prime Ministerial Correspondence provides details of the extension of monies to Livingstone. Also, Stafford, David Babbington's William Ewart Gladstone: Faith and Politics in Victorian England, and David Kynaston's The Chancellor of the Exchequer.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Stanley's original journals and How I Found Livingstone combine to portray Stanley's worries and fears. His original desire to follow the Rufiji instead of the caravan routes is seen in his journals. Also, Bennett's Studies in East African History, Liebowitz, Holmes, Bierman, McLynn.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Bennett's Despatches, McLynn, Bierman, Bennett, Liebowitz.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Oswell, Coupland, Holmes, Nicholls, Cameron. Livingstone's letter to Seward, dated November 1871, was purchased by The Brenthurst Library through Chas J. Sawyer at an auction at Christie's on December 16, 1991. At their request, it is cited thus: David Livingstone, Letter, MS.240/1f. The Brenthurst Library, Johannesburg.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Details of caravan life are best seen in Cameron, Bennett. The Center for Disease Control provided the details about sleeping sickness and tsetse. Dr. Matthew Dugard and Dr. Steven Cullen provided further insight.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: It bears repeating that Stanley's thoughts and actions are all catalogued in his journals and How I Found Livingstone. Also, McLynn, Bierman. The CDC, Dugard, and Cullen provided commentary on dysentery.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Granville's comments can be found in Hansard's Parliamentary Debates. The excellent Encarta Encyclopedia provided background on the war between France and Germany.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: McLynn, Bierman, Brown, Holmes, Bennett's Despatches. The CDC provided information on elephantiasis. Stafford.

  CHAPTER TWENTY: Baker's Ismaelia provides a vivid re-creation of life in Gondokoro, including records of conversations with passing travelers about Livingstone's possible location, and tables listing the daily temperature and humidity. Also, Moorehead, Stafford, Holmes.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Cameron, Holmes, Nicholls.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: McLynn, Bierman, Farwell. Stanley's early comments about Livingstone can be found in Bennett's Despatches. Stanley's sexual ambivalence has been thoroughly catalogued in the various biographies.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: Stanley thoroughly documented his time in Ugogo, but Cameron's journals read like an anthropological odyssey, complete with drawings, vivid descriptions, and various tales of the Wagogo. The CDC, for information on malaria.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: The Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Cameron's To the Farthest Ends of the Earth, and Mill's Record.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Bennett's East African History and Despatches, McLynn, Bierman.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: McLynn, Bierman, Bennett.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Livingstone's journal description of the massacre is vivid and horrific. He also wrote of the tragedy in a letter to Earl Granville, dated November 14, 1871. Also, Coupland, Holmes, Nicholls. Cameron, for his discussion of cannibalism.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: McLynn, Bierman, Bennett.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: Bennett's Despatches, Studies in East African History, and Arab Versus European. McLynn, Bierman.

  CHAPTER THIRTY: I. F. Lockevon's original letter to Stanley is on file with the Royal Geographical Society. Davies's Ten Days on the Plains, Brown's American West and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, McLynn, O'Connor, Seitz. Weybright and Sell, Goodman and Leonard, for Buffalo Bill information. Bennett's Despatches.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: McLynn, Bierman, Snell-Blasford, Bennett's Despatches. The CDC website for information on smallpox.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: Kirk's letter to Murchison, dated September 25, 1871. Kirk's letter to Earl Granville, dated September 22, 1871. Bennett's Despatches. Bierman, McLynn.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: McLynn, Bierman, Farwell.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: Nicholls, Coupland, Holmes's Letters and Documents and Journey to Livingstone. Livingstone's letters to Granville.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: Bierman, McLynn, Bennett, Oswell.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: Gladstone's Diaries are the most auspicious reference in this chapter. It's also worth noting, however, the attention Murchison's death received. Though largely overlooked in modern histories of the Victorian era, Murchison's accomplishments warranted an exhaustive obituary in the Times, as well as a lengthy, detailed write-up of his funeral. Burton's status in life can be found in his letter to the Times, as well as Rice. As for the revised date for Stanley's meeting with Livingstone, the source is Francois Bontinick's “La date de le rencontre Stanley-Livingstone” from Africa, Rivista trimestale di studi e documentazione dell'Istituto Italo-African 24, as noted in McLynn.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: Stanley's and Livingstone's journals provide a thorough and insightful look at their time together. Further information can be found in Bierman, McLynn, Farwell. Bennett's Despatches is especially vital to this period, as are Seitz and O'Connor.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: Bennett, McLynn, Bierman, Liebowitz. The comments of Tom Livingstone, Granville, Queen Victoria, and Rawlinson are included in the Appendix of Stanley's How I Found Livingstone, in which he laid out his defense against his detractors.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: The interviews of Chitambo and Mumana were conducted in October, 1936. Their signed affidavits are on file with the Royal Geographical Society. Kirk's comments are taken from David Livingstone: His Life and Letters. Daily Life in Victorian England provided insights into parenthood. The general naughtiness of London society during that era can be found in Carey's Eyewitness to History. Dr. Isaac Baker Brown's theories on clitoridectomies can be found in his On the Curability of Certain Forms of Insanity, Epilepsy, Catalepsy and Hysteria in Females (1866). It's worth noting that Brown's theories were later found to be repulsive. Brown himself went insane.

  CHAPTER FORTY: Cameron, Waller, Stanley, Coupland, and the Times of London.

  Bibliography

  Adams, H. G. David Livingstone. London, 1902.

  Allen, Oliver E. New York, New York. New York, 1990.

  Anstruther, Ian. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume. New York, 1957.

  Baker, Sir Samuel White. Ismailia. London, 1874.

  Bebbington, David. William Ewart Gladstone, Faith and Politics in Victorian Britain. Grand Rapids, 1993.

  Bennett, Norman Robert. Arab Versus European. New York, 1986.

  ———. Stanley's Despatches to the New York Herald:
1871–1872, 1874–1877. Boston, 1970.

  ———. Studies in East African History. Boston, 1963.

  Bierman, John. Dark Safari: The Life Behind the Legend of Henry Morton Stanley. Austin, 1990.

  Blasford-Snell, John. In the Steps of Stanley. London, 1975.

  Boorstin, Daniel J. The Discoverers. New York, 1983.

  Brandon, Michael. The Perfect Victorian Hero. Edinburgh, 1982.

  Brown, Dee. The American West. New York, 1994.

  ———. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. New York, 1970.

  Burke, John. An Illustrated History of England. London, 1974.

  Burrows, Edwin G., and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York, 1999.

  Burton, Isabel. Life of Sir Richard Burton. London, 1893.

  Burton, Sir Richard. The Lake Regions of Central Africa. New York, 1961.

  Cameron, Ian. To the Farthest Ends of the Earth: The History of the Royal Geographical Society 1830–1980. London, 1980.

  Cameron, Verney Lovett. Across Africa. London, 1877.

  Clun, Harold P. The Face of London. London, 1962.

  Coupland, Sir Reginald. East Africa and Its Invaders. London, 1938.

  ———. The Exploitation of East Africa. London, 1939.

  ———. Livingstone's Last Journey. London, 1945.