Mr. Stanley's plans for a railway around the Livingstone Falls, on the Lower Congo, have aroused the Portuguese, who fear the effects of the new line of commerce. They have begun the construction of a railway from San Paulo de Loanda up the valley of the Bengo River to Ambaca, a distance of about two hundred and fifty miles. English and American engineers are in charge of the work, and they hope to complete the line in about three years. The railway can hardly be called a rival of Mr. Stanley's, as it is a long way south of the Congo, and its principal uses will be to preserve the local trade which centres at Ambaca, and prevent its diversion to the stations of the Congo State. The surveys for the Congo railway are in progress while these pages are in the printer's hands.
CHIEF OF COAST TRIBE IN PORTUGUESE TERRITORY.
[CHAPTER XX.]
MORE AFRICAN STUDIES.—MASAI LAND.—EARLY HISTORY OF THE MOMBASA COAST.—MOUNT KILIMANJARO.—ITS DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS.—REBMANN'S UMBRELLA.—THOMSON'S EXPEDITION AND ITS OBJECT.—FRERE TOWN AND MOMBASA.—JOURNEY TO MASAI LAND.—HOSTILITY OF THE NATIVES.—NARROW ESCAPES.—MASAI WARRIORS AND THEIR OCCUPATIONS.—MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE.—THOMSON AS A MAGICIAN.—JOHNSTON'S KILIMANJARO EXPEDITION.—HEIGHT AND PECULIARITIES OF THE GREAT MOUNTAIN.—MANDARA AND HIS COURT.—SLAVE-TRADING.—MASAI WOMEN.—SURROUNDED BY LIONS.—BISHOP HANNINGTON.—STORY OF HIS DEATH IN UGANDA.
It was mentioned in the first chapter of this volume that Frank and Fred had provided themselves with a parcel of books which were to constitute the reading-matter for the voyage, "Through the Dark Continent" being of the number. Transatlantic travellers generally carry four or five times as many books as they can possibly read during their transit over the ocean, and our young friends were no exceptions to the rule. They were so absorbed with the readings which have just been described, and the presence of Mr. Stanley on the steamer, that they gave little attention to books other than the interesting volume under consideration.