Complex sentence: He disembarked at New Orleans and, according to his own declarations, became friends quite by accident with a wealthy trader named Henry Hope Stanley: he saw Stanley sitting on a chair outside his store and asked him if he had any job openings.
Split into simpler sentences: He disembarked at New Orleans and, according to his own declarations, became friends quite by accident with a wealthy trader named Henry Hope Stanley. He saw Stanley sitting on a chair outside his store and asked him if he had any job openings.