of loyalty, and as the sway of the Congo Free State (or "Buli
Matdi," as it is named by the woolly aboriginal), had been brutally
tyrannous, the change of allegiance had worried them little. Besides,
they had been in contact with Captain Kettle before, and knew him to be
that admirable thing, a Man, and worthy of being served; while Clay,
whom they also knew, amused them with his banjo, and held powerful
_ju-ju_ in the shape of drugs; and so they went blithely enough where
they were led or driven, and described themselves as soldiers or slaves,
whichever word happened to come handiest. The African of the interior
never worries his head about the terms of his service. So long as he has
plenty of food, and a master to do all the thinking for him, he is quite
content to work, or steal, or fight, or be killed, as that master sees
fit to direct.

The progress of the little stern-wheel steamer on her return journey up
the Haut Congo might also give rise to misapprehension here at home, if
it were described exactly as it happened. There are no ship's chandlers
in Central Africa, and it is the custom there, when you lack stores, to
go to a village on the bank and requisition anything that is available.
The Arab slave-traders who once held the country did this; the
prehistoric people before them founded the custom; and the Free State
authorities, their lineal descendants, have not seen fit to change the
policy. At least, they may have done so in theory at Brussels, but out
there, in practice, they have left this matter _in statu quo_.

There is a massive conservatism about the heart of Africa with which it
is dangerous to tamper. If you rob a man in that region, he merely
respects your superior power. If you offer him payments, he promptly
suspects you of weakness, and sets his clumsy mind at work to find the
method by which you may be robbed of whatever you have not voluntarily
surrendered.

"Of course," said Kettle, taking up the thread of his tale again, "it's
understood that we run this country for our own advantage first."

"What other object should white men have up-country in Africa?" said
Clay. "We don't come here merely for our health."

"But I've got a great notion of treating the people well besides. When
we have made a sufficient pile--and, mark you, it must be all in ivory,
as there's nothing else of value that can be easy enough handled--we
shall clear out for the Coast, one-time. And then we must realize on th