THE BOY TRAVELLERS
ON
THE CONGO.
[CHAPTER I.]
CROSSING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN WITH STANLEY.—"THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT."—AN IMPROMPTU GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.—PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF STANLEY.—COMMENTS UPON HIM BY FRANK AND FRED.—HOW THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY WAS ORGANIZED.—READING STANLEY'S BOOK.—STANLEY'S DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND FOR ZANZIBAR.—JOINT ENTERPRISE OF TWO NEWSPAPERS.—PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION.—THE LADY ALICE.—BARKER AND THE POCOCKS.—ZANZIBAR.—PRINCE BARGHASH.—INHABITANTS OF ZANZIBAR.-THE WANGWANA.
At eight o'clock on the morning of December 15, 1886, the magnificent steamer Eider, of the North German Lloyds, left her dock in New York harbor for a voyage to Southampton and Bremen. Among the passengers that gathered on her deck to wave farewell to friends on shore was one whose name has become famous throughout the civilized world for the great work he has performed in exploring the African continent and opening it to commerce and Christianizing influences.