The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-26

consequent upon having men to do all their work, and general evils of the sys- tenn One thing especially had much in- duence in securing Ndombe's sympathy with my plea. There were some Ameri- can colored men in the country as mis- sionaries. Ndombe. was very curious to
 know how these men had ever gotten into the white mans land. When I explained the part that his ancestry had probably played In sending the forefathers of these American colored men away from the land Of their birth. Ndombe was greatly excited about 1t, and when he learned of
 the immense numbers of the American
 negroes who had the same history. his interest in my efforts was vastly in- creased. So once he called a mass meet ing of his people at the capital, and ad- dressed them at length. He said that henceforth they must buy no more slaves, and all slave children born thereafter were to be free. He ordered all his peo- pie to refuse to admit the slave traders Into the country, and to bring any caught in his jurisdiction to him. He said, more over, that the proper way to increase the
 population of the country was not to steal
 the children of others. but to beget chil- dren of their own. Ndombe had set his
 people notable example in this respect, for he was the father of above forty-five himself!
 After this ukase, things were consider ably enlivened. One day I was informed that a slave trader had been caught and that Ndombe had sentenced him to death. hurried up to the quarters of the King.
 and only by earnest diplomatic represen-
 tations succeeded in changing the cap tive's sentence to instant and perpetual banishment. That trader departed. and
 waited not on the order of his going.
 The news about Ndombe's decree spread abroad and created consternation in the ranks of the man-catchers. But the crusade went boldly on, and the slavers were finally deprived of their traffic in an immense territory.
 Once Ndombe's sense of humor amused me highly. Some of the people caught c slaye-trader near my station and brought him to me. sent fer Ndombe, and his prime minister, Joka. When the
 King came down, he looked at the offend CT sternly, and he gravely asked me what I would take for him? Catching on, I asked Joka to make a bid. The old man said he would give two goats. asked him what he would do with the fellow.
 Joka said he would sell him to the Bas-
 chilele, the worst cannibai tribe in the country. At these ominous words, the
 slave trader fell on his knees and im- plored me not to let Joka have him. Whereupon Ndombe graveiy inquired how
 many Baluba the fellow had himself sold in times past to those same cannibals.
 The fellow was fairly caught in his own net. He could do nothing but beg and plead. So we told him to leave, and to be glad that we had more mercy on him than he had exercised toward his poor slaves.
 During this period there occurred a re- markable exhibition of determination to secure freedom on the part of a Batatela captive in the hands of the Zappo-Zaps. was once at the junction of the Kasai and Luiula Rivers. awaiting the arrival ot steamer with our tri-annuai mail. One of my little Batetela henchmen, a boy who subsequently, accompanied me to America. came up and informed me that
 one of his tribe. freeman born. was held in slavery by Zappo-Zap at this place. The captive,s name was Wembo. After nightfall Wembo came to see me. | In the bright moonlight I saw a massive | and powerful man. His chest was like a | barrel, his muscles stood out like whip | cords. his features were stern, his face | rigid, his brow furrowed, his whole mien .resolute and even terrifying. He was | about my own age, but harsh experience
 had aged his bearing. and given him a | curious air of silent self-restraint. | He said that he had been born a | months journey toward the sunrise on | the great Luauaba, a freeman, the son of freeman. In the wars with the | Arabs he had been captured as lad and
 sold to the Zappo-Zaps. Many times had | he escaped. only 70 be recaptured and | cruelty treated. His present master had
 allowed him to work for the white rubber
 trader and had promised him his free-
 dom. when he should have earned
 six pieces of cloth (twice the l usual price of a slave.) He had earned twelve pieces of cloth. six of which he had spent in buying a wife, and six he
 had paid to his master. But his master
 had broken his promise and would not let
 him go.
 | When asked why the white man for whom he worked did not secure his free
 dom he said that the trader was afraid
 he would thereby lose his rubber trade
 with the Zappo-Zaps.
 I I explained to Wembo that could not take him from his master by force, but assured him that if he could manage to
 set away and come to me at my station
 at Ndombe, we would then protect him. | After the steamer came, I returned to