THE LlFE & EXPLORATIONS OF FREDERICK STANLEY ARNOT '(_EIY (!I <J(ECENT "BOOKS A Burmese Arcady. An Account of a Long Sojourn amongst the Mountain Owe.lien of the Hinterland. By Major C. M. ENRIQUEZ, F.R.G.S. With Illustra­ tions a' a Map. DemyBvo. 2u.net. Among Unknown Eskimo. Twelve Years' Intimate Relations with the Primitive Eskimo of Baffin Land. By J. W. BILBY, F.R.G.S., Member of the Folk-Lore Society. Illustrations & a Map. 2n. net. Sport and AdYenture in Africa. A Reco,d of Twelve Years of Big Game Hunting, Campaigning l!,a Travel in the Tropical Wilds of Africa. By Captain W. T. SHORT• HOSB..1 D.s.o., F.R.G.s., F.ll.A.I., F .z. :,. Illustrations & a Map. 21s. net. ACricaa Idylls. By the Rt. Rev, DONALD FRASD, D.D., Authorof u Winning a Primi­ tive People." With lllustmtions. Extra Crown Bvo. 60. net. Seco,cd & Cluaper Edition. The Life and Explorations of Frederick Stanley Arnot. Authorised Biography of a Zealo111 Mi ..ionary & Intrepid Explorer. By ERNEST B4KBR. With Illustra­ tion, & a Map. Demy Bvo. 6s. net. The Making of Modem Japan. An Account of the Progreuof Ja~ ~r::.tJ:J::!~/~ ~i. c;:w:~ of a Great Power. By J. H. GuBBtNs, C.M.G., First Secretary of British Embassy at Tokio. With Illustrations. Demy Bvo. 211. net. The Sea Gypsies of Malaya. An Account of Nomadic Mawken People of the Mergui Archipelago, By WALTER WHITE, F.R.G.S. With Illustrations & a Map. :us. neL The Hill Tribes of Fiji. A Record of Forty Years" intimate connection with the Tribes of the Mountainous Interior. By A. B. BREWSTER, F.R.A.I. Illustrations & Maps. 2,s. net. The Rift Valleys and Geology of Hast Africa.. By Prof. J. W. GRKGORV1 D.Sc., F.R.S. Illu1trations&Maps. 30s. n. A Diplomat in Japan. The Inner History of the Critical Years in the Evolution of Japan when the Ports were Opened 6' the Monarchy Restored. By the Right Hon. SirERNBSTSATOw,G.C.M.G., British Minister, Peking, 1900-5. 11lustrations. Deroy 8vo. 3:zs. net. s,coNd Editio,c. Unexplored New Guinea. Travels, Adventures & Experiences in the Interior. WILFRED N.BxAva•. Illustrations & 4 Maps. oss. net. Tltird Editio... Prehistoric Man and His Story. A Sketch of the History of Mankind from the Earliest Time,. By Prof. G. F. ScoTT ELLIOT, M.A.(Cantab), · B.Sc.(Edin.), F.R.S.E., F.LS., F.R.G.S. 56 Illus. 100, 6d. net. SEELEY, SERVICE & CO. LTD. FREDERICK STANLEY AR'\OT A photo taken on Paddington Station platform in June1 r 913, when leaving for Africa for the last time. - THE LIFE &' EXPLORATIONS OF FREDERICK STANLEY ARNOT THE AUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY OF A ZEALOUS MISSIONARY, INTREPID EXPLORER, €5 SELF­ DENYING BENEFACTOR AMONGST THE NATIVES OF AFRICA BY ERNEST BAKER AVTKOll OJ' "TBJ: HTUl:N 01" TKII: LORD," f/1,;. ~,;. Second Eililio11 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON SEELEY, SERVICE E!1 CO., LIMITED 38 Git.HAT RUSSELL STREET 1923 Pritlud;,, Gnal Britain. PREFACE HESITATED long as to the form the Life of Arnot should take, alternating between a descriptive narra­ I tive and a transcript of his diaries and letters. As I read and re-read these I felt something of the spell that the diaries of David Brainerd, Henry Martyn, and Murray McCheyne have exercised over so many, and I felt that it would be better for the most part to allow Arnot to tell his own story. So I have made a plentiful use of his own words, believing that the result of combining the two methods will be the addition to our literature of a story that will be both interesting from a narrative point of view, and stimulating and inspiring from the devotional standpoint. In the use of letters I have not specified, except on occasions when I have deemed it necessary, to whom they were addressed. Arnot must be reckoned, not only amongst the greatest saints and missionaries of modern times, but also amongst its greatest travellers. He made nine journeys to the centre of Africa. Without reckoning the tens of thousands of miles that he had to travel on the ocean to get to Africa and back, with­ out counting the journeys around the coast from port to port, and without including the long distances he was able to go in the latter part of his life by train over railways that had then been built, it is estimated that he covered 29,000 miles in all by foot, in hammocks, on the back of donkeys or oxen, or in canoes. This is a record that has probably never been sur­ passed in Africa, and it is doubtful if many have equalled it in other parts of the world. I am greatly indebted to the hearty co-operation of Mrs. Arnot, the widow of F. S. Arnot, for the loan of diaries, letters, and other papers, and for numerous articles and booklets written by Arnot from time to time. Mrs. Arnot's counsel has been invaluable in deciding what to include and what to eliminate. 11 12 PREFACE Some of the material has of necessity appeared already in Arnot's principal books, Garenganze, Bihe and Garengante, and Missionary Travels in Central Africa, and grateful acknowledg­ ment is hereby made both to Mrs. Arnot and the publishers of these works for permission to use the material contained therein. Miss Ray Arnot, Arnot's eldest daughter, who assisted him in his later years in his literary work and correspondence, has been a great help in correcting place-names. Then a word must be said for the great traveller's mother, Mrs. Arnot, who is still alive, and, at the time of writing, is eighty-six years of age. She resides in Gla8gow and has followed with great interest the progress of this Biography, and has trusted letters of her son to the mercy of the seas, infested in war time with the deadly submarine. Glimpses of him, in a tenderer and more vivid light, can thus be given to the public than could be obtained from a perusal of his journals and letters, which were written with a view to publication. ERNEST BAKER. J OHANNJilBBVBG, SOUTH AFBICA. CONTENTS CBAPUB PAGC I. BEGINNINGS 17 II. .AFRICAN APPRENTIOESHIP 22 III. THROUGH THE DESERT 32 IV. FIRST EXPERIENOES WITH CARRIERS . 43 v. SPYING OUT THE LAND 52 VI. AMONGST THE BAROTSE 66 VII. MORE ABOUT THE . BAROTSE 90 VIII. FRoM THE ZAMBESI TO BENGUELLA 104 IX. SOME NATIVE BELIEFS 122 x. AT AND AROUND BENGUELLA 129 XI. A START FROM BENGUELLA 143 XII. IN NEED OF PATIENCE 159 XIII. IN GARENGANZE 179 XIV. THE PEOPLE 200 xv. .ANxlETIES, PRAYERS AND DELIVERANCES 216 XVI. Ho:r.rn AND FAME 231 XVII. THE SECOND JOURNEY 238 XVIII. THE THIRD JOURNEY 254 XIX. GREAT BRITAIN, BRITISH GUIANA AND EUROPE 268 XX. THE FOURTH JOURNEY 274 XXI. THE FIFTH J OUR...""IEY 2S5 XXII. THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH JOURNEYS 301 XXIII. THE EIGHTH JOURNEY 314 XXIV. THE LASr JOURNEY AND THE HOME CALL , 322 13 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FREDERICK S1'ANLEY AIL."',OT • Frontispiece 1'4CUl'O PA.OIC F. s. ABN01' (AGED 23) 48 F. s. ABNOT (AGED 31) 48 KUTATU CROSSING 112 ON 1'HE ZAMBESI • 144 BmE 176 NEAR BrnE • 208 A FETISH-MAN 288 A SrRmmo HEAD-DREss 288 THE LIFE & EXPLORATIONS OF FREDERICK STANLEY ARNOT CHAPTER I BEGINNINGS REDERICK STANLEY ARNOT came of a good stock. His great-grandfather, on his paternal side, was the F Rev. William Arnot of the church now known as the Arnot Memorial Church, Kennoway, Fifeshire. A book of sermons entitled Law and Grace, written by him, was greatly esteemed by his fellow ministers at the time of its publication. This William Arnot was a great friend of the Rev. John Newton, the well-known hymn writer. A letter by this famous preacher written to Mrs. Arnot on the occasion of the death of her husband has been preserved, and was read by Fred as a boy with great and reverent interest. The grandfather of the future missionary was also a William Arnot. He was a publisher in Edinburgh, and connected with the Bible Society in that city. He was alive when Fred was born, and daily remembered his grandsons in prayer. Fred's own father was also named William, and at the time of his (Fred's) birth-which took place on September 12th, 1858, at 8 Bunbank Terrace, Glasgow-had a shipping con­ nection with Australia. His mother was the youngest daughter of Neil Macdonald, of Macdonald and Dunn, sewed-muslin manufacturers of Paisley. Mr. Macdonald died before his daughter's marriage with Mr. Arnot. His grandparents belonged to the islands of Skye, from which they fled at the time of the rebellion in connection with Prince Charlie. When Fred was about four years of age his parents removed to Hamilton. Here he attended the Gilbertfield School, where, ll 18 BEGINNINGS at the age of six, at the Annual Prize Distribution, he heard Dr. Livingstone, who had just returned from exploring the Zambesi. His interest in Africa began then. As Hamilton was the home of Livingstone a friendship sprang up between the Arnots and the Livingstones ; and on Saturday afternoons Fred used to play with the children of the great traveller. On these occasions they frequently rummaged in the corners of an old attic where many of the curios brought from Africa were kept, and where also the Doctor's books and letters were stored. On one of these occasions Annie Mary, Living­ stone's daughter, read to them one of her father's letters in which he told of the cruelties practised by the slave traders.