The story of the Congo Free State

by Henry Wellington Wack

Native Making Butter at his Home in Botandana (Kivu).

For the purpose of training these forces, seven camps of about five hundred men each were formed, and the period of training the men undergo is fixed at eighteen months. The uniform is blue linen, or, for full uniform, blue cloth, with a scarlet fez. The arm in general use is the Albini, with a short bayonet. The white officers carry the Mauser rifle, with a magazine. The greatest pains is taken in the fire-training and discipline of the men. Competitions are held every three months among sections of fifty men, and prizes awarded. A great improvement has been effected in the housing of the troops, who are now almost entirely accommodated in brick barracks. The artillery of the force is of considerable strength, and includes, Krupps, Maxims and Nordenfelts.

The seven camps of instruction are Zambi, for the Lower Congo; Kinshassa, Bolobo, Irebu, Kassongo, Umangi, La Romee, for the Upper Congo. The principal armed camps, as they are called (because they are bases of military power), are those at Lusambo, Bomokandi, and the Aruwimi; but Vankerckhovenville, Dungu, and Redjaf are now of equal, if not of greater, importance. At Kinshassa, on Stanley Pool, a fort with a battery has been constructed for the protection of Leopoldville and the railway terminus; and here an experiment has been successfully tried of utilising the services of prisoners of war. Men selected from the captives of the numerous expeditions have been passed through a probationary course on the works of this place, and in this manner a considerable number of recruits have been obtained for the Public Force on more favourable terms than the militiamen recruited through the chiefs. Kinshassa is not the only fortified place within the State territory; for at Chinkakassa, near Boma, a strong fort has been constructed, commanding the navigation of the Congo and the approaches from the ocean. Here Captain Petillon, of the Belgian Engineers, has placed eight Krupps and a number of smaller guns in an admirably selected position, while the Mongos tribe, from the Equateurville district, has supplied an adequate number of skilful and handy gunners. The authorities of the Congo State will experience no difficulty in procuring suitable men for this arm of their Public Force.

The first and oldest company of the Public Force deserves a special notice to itself. This is the auxiliary company of the Congo Railway, and was founded by royal decree of 9th August, 1890, or twelve months earlier than the decree constituting the general force. Its organisation was entrusted to Captain Weyns, an officer of the Carabiniers. Its strength was first fixed at the modest total of fifty men; in 1892 it was increased to a hundred men, and afterwards it received a further addition of fifty men. The task entrusted to this corps was the protection of the railway works and of the villages through which the railway passed. As eight thousand navvies were employed on the line, and as these were composed of many nationalities, the task was no sinecure, but it was performed with perfect success and without friction. The auxiliary force was recruited in a different manner from the rest of the military. It contained several elements: for instance, twenty-five Senegalese, and fifty Batetelas from the country between the Sankuru and the Lualaba. Although of precisely the same race as the mutineers of the Dhanis column, the latter gave no trouble in 1897. Like the other militiamen of the State, they serve for five years with the colours and for two years in the reserve, but the cost of maintaining this corps is borne by the railway company. It, however, forms an integral part of the general Public Force, and can be utilised if any occasion arises. Captain Weyns reported so favourably of the quickness of the Batetela recruits and their military aptitude, that all vacancies in this company are now, like those in the rest of the Public Force, filled up with natives of the Congo territory.

In the archives of the Congo State’s Administration in Brussels, there are interesting official reports dealing with the question of creating a reliable native force from the most civilised of the Congolese tribes. The problem was not without many peculiar difficulties. Baron Van Eetvelde, whose lofty aims for Congolese civilisation were fortified with many wise measures of great utility to the Government, had formulated plans for the establishment of a system of military conscription, as to which in January, 1897, he reported as follows:

The State has set itself to the task of creating a purely national army, with the view of lightening the budget of the considerable charges which weighed upon it through having to recruit abroad, and also with the view of putting an end, in accordance with the highest dictates of policy, to its dependence in this matter upon foreigners. It considers, moreover, the period of military service as a salutary school for the native, where he will learn respect for authority and the obligations of duty. It is happy, from this view, to see the number of national militiamen increase, and, in order that the institution may preserve all its value, special provisions have been made to prevent abuses, to regulate the recruiting, to assure the welfare of soldiers on service, and to provide occupation for those who have served their term. The decree on the recruiting of the Public Force is not more rigorous than any other similar act of legislation, and the incorporation is made under as sure guarantees of human liberty as in the armies of Europe. As is the case in almost all countries, the recruiting, independent of voluntary engagements, is made by annual levies, but “within the limits of the contingent fixed by the King-Sovereign,” and within these limits “the Governor-General determines the districts and localities in which the levy is to be made, and also the proportion to be furnished by each locality.... The mode according to which the levy operates is determined by the district commissary in agreement with the native chief; and although the drawing by lot is recommended, we must recognise that it would be difficult, in the present circumstances, to have recourse always and everywhere to this method in each village, and to refuse to recognise the customary authority of the village chief, when he designates the militiamen among his own dependants.... The length of active service is for five years. At the expiration of this term, the men pass two years in the reserve. The time passed under the colours, then, cannot exceed seven years—a term which experience shows not to be excessive; and it is strictly forbidden to keep under the flags men who are no longer borne on the lists, or whose term of service has expired, under pain of misdemeanour. These organic dispositions have been completed by instructions, which prescribe on the officers ‘to watch carefully that the men receive a sufficient nourishment, are comfortably housed, that the sick are well taken care of, that the men are always properly treated, that their misconduct is dealt with in conformity with the regulations, and carefully avoiding all excessive severity.

In fact, this system renders light for the native his obligations as a soldier. We do not desire any other proof than those four thousand volunteers who are actually enrolled, and those numerous re-engagements, which show the taste of the native for the profession of arms. It was not with an army of malcontents that the State could have carried out its anti-slavery campaign. The State continues to interest itself in its soldiers after their term has expired. The time-expired men, sent back to their homes at its expense, together with their wives and children (if there are any), are the object of special protection, and receive concessions of land in a station at their own choice.

Native Canoes, Lower Congo.