Henry Morton Stanley

Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?

Stanley was to undertake a search for the Scottish missionary and explorer, Dr. David Livingstone, who at that time had been missing in East Africa for three years.  The Royal Geographical Society had prepared an expedition to search for Livingstone, but when letters arrived Zanzibar it was called off.  Nevertheless, these letters were all that was heard from Livingstone, which was very unlike the missionary-explorer who was noted for sending continuous updates of his progress.

Stanley did not begin his search for Livingstone immediately because Bennett, always eager to increase his paper's circulation, hoped a delay might improve Stanley's chances of returning with a more exciting story, rather than merely with the news that Livingstone was still lost.  "If he is dead bring back every possible proof of his death", Bennett said.

As instructed, Stanley first travelled to Egypt, where he covered the opening of the Suez Canal and met with Sir Samuel White Baker, who at that time was planning an expedition up the Nile.  Stanley then travelled into the Crimea, where he reported on the battle sites of the Crimean War of 1853-56.

Stanley toured the region around the Caspian Sea before heading southward into Persia (present-day Iran).  Continuing to Baghdad, he sent back dispatches on the newly developed railroad through the Euphrates Valley.  He later sailed to India, from where he reached the coast of East Africa, arriving in Zanzibar on January 26, 1871, 18 months after Bennett had first commissioned him to look for Livingstone.  By then, reports by Arab slave traders indicated that a white man fitting Livingstone's description was at Ujiji on the east shore of Lake Tanganyika.

Stanley had been provided with virtually limitless financial resources by his New York publisher, and proceeded to organize a small army of porters, guides, hunters and armed escorts, along with pack animals.  He spared no expense, and had the veteran Sidi Mubarak Bombay as his caravan leader. 

He departed Bagamoyo on the mainland of present-day Tanzania on March 21, 1871.  He followed the Arab slave caravan route inland to Tabora, then continued toward Lake Tanganyika.  The travelling was extremely difficult, despite Stanley's thorough preparations.  Two of his British companions died, and Stanley himself was constantly plagued by fever, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness.  Conflict with slave traders and African natives meant large detours had to be taken.  Stanley himself doubted whether he would make it through alive, carving the message "Starving: H.M.S." on a tree.

Nevertheless, Stanley pushed on with the ruthless determination which came to characterize his expeditions.  If he encountered the slightest opposition, he ordered his men to take out their guns and shoot.  If his porters shirked their duties, he had them whipped or even hanged.  If anyone left the caravan, he had the deserter tracked down and punished, and chained for the rest of the journey. 

Finally, on November 10, 1871, Stanley reached a hill outside of Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, a town where rumor said a white man was staying.  Stanley unfurled the American flag and marched into Ujiji firing 50 guns simultaneously.  He was met by Susi, one of Livingstone's African supporters, and was led to where the famous doctor was staying.  The famous encounter is expressed in Stanley's words:

"As I advanced slowly toward him I noticed he was pale, looked wearied, had a gray beard, wore a bluish cap with a faded gold braid round it, had on a red-sleeved waistcoat, and a pair of gray tweed trousers.  I would have run to him, only I was a coward in the presence of such a mob – would have embraced him, only, he being an Englishman, I did not know how he would receive me.  So I did what cowardice and false pride suggested was the best thing – walked deliberately to him, took off my hat, and said:

'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?'

"Yes", said he, with a kind smile, lifting his cap slightly.

:Livingstone expressed surprise that he was thought to be lost, as he considered himself only temporarily weakened by disease and short of supplies.  Moreover, Livingstone was still committed to exploring the great lakes of East Africa, especially in ascertaining their exact connection to the Congo and Nile rivers.  The two men spent the next five months together and developed a close relationship, despite their very different personalities, seeming at times like father and son.

Stanley accompanied Livingstone in an examination of the northern end of Lake Tanganyika, and, although they found no evidence of a major river flowing out of the lake, they learned that the Ruzizi River flowed into it, which was contrary to the belief of Sir Richard Burton.

Stanley left Livingstone at Tabora on March 14, 1872, as Livingstone wanted to investigate the Lualaba River, which he thought might be the Nile source (the Lualaba does flow north from the river flowing out of Lake Tanganyika, but is actually a part of the Congo River system).

Stanley was going to gather supplies for Livingstone, and travelled back to the Indian Ocean coast at Bagamoyo and Zanzibar, arriving there in May.  His news of finding Livingstone reached Europe and New York in August 1872, and he was greeted with much controversy when he later arrived in England.  Many people disbelieved his reports, and even after Livingstone's family confirmed the authenticity of the letters Stanley brought back, he was still looked down upon as a boorish American.

Stanley stormed out of one testimonial dinner because he thought he was being condescended to, and while he received a somewhat warmer reception in New York, some newspapers portrayed Stanley in a negative light, even bringing up his desertion from the Navy.  Stanley remained bitter about his reception for the rest of his life, and in many ways his decision to return to Africa can be seen as an attempt to prove that his critics were wrong about him.

Nevertheless, Stanley's account of the exploit, "How I Found Livingstone" (1872), became an instant bestseller.  In 1873 Stanley was awarded a gold medal by the Royal Geographical Society, and that same year he went to what is now Ghana in West Africa to cover Sir Garnet Wolseley's military campaign against the Ashanti.

Stanley had by this time resolved to complete the exploration of central Africa begun by Livingstone.  Livingstone himself had died in Africa on April 27, 1873, and his body was brought back to England for burial.  Stanley served as one of the pall-bearers at his funeral at Westminster Abbey in London.  When he had originally heard of the explorer's death, Stanley wrote, "May I be selected to succeed him in opening up Africa to the shining light of Christianity!"

next: The Great Congo Expedition