Congo River Expedition Events

Congo River Expedition expedition_events.601

An expedition has been set to explore the Lualaba and Congo Rivers.

A number of experts in different fields has been gathered to take part in the expedition to the very heart of nature. Their youthful enthusiasm is quietly blended with the prudent fear that our most veteran explorers feel towards the uncharted continent.

Choosing a Leader expedition_events.602

A group of strong candidates have expressed their interest in leading the expedition. However, this is not a decision we should make lightly.

The first to arrive was a well-dressed, fresh-faced, almost young gentleman whose keenness to impress was only matched by his willingness to oblige. His smile, as wide as one can imagine, was fashionably put together: "If I may...," he politely said, presenting his credentials.

The Expedition Arrives expedition_events.604

After a few weeks of preparations and travel, the expedition led by … has arrived at the mouth of the Congo. From here they will begin their journey to plot the course of this elusive river.

"Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine. The long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of overshadowed distances."

Successful Expedition expedition_events.611

… has returned triumphantly, the course and source of the Congo River have been plotted.

"Coming back home is supposed to be the easiest part and, in a sense, it certainly was. But the jungle had forever taken us, ravished our souls in revelry and terror—a part of us had forever stayed there. When I closed my eyes there, I saw my family; when I close my eyes here, I can only see a persistent and drowning green."

Failed Expedition expedition_events.612

"Do you see the story? Do you see anything? It seems to me that I am trying to tell you a dream—making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible which is the very essence of dreams..."

Boat Repairs expedition_events.620

Our boat has been damaged by an unnoticed boulder while trying to navigate one of the river's most slender meanders in ….

"The narrowing waters flow through jagged rocks, wooden debris, drifting remains of the jungle that surrounds us. One could become lost in this river—even become truly lost in his mind, and these ruins could be mistaken for one's own ruins. A sharp noise woke us from our childish reverie, memories from simpler times in another place, another time so distant that swallows this existence, transforms it into something wilder, something lonelier. When we walked over to investigate it, we found that part of the hull had been severely damaged."

The White Fog expedition_events.630

At dawn, the expedition wakes up to find a dense white fog surrounding them, greatly impairing their vision.

"There it was before us: a viscous and coagulated layer of nature's ill breath, like a mass of rotten ivory blood, making it impossible to guess where our steamboat was, making it impossible to even guess who the man next to us was, or whether he was still alive. It was calm. And that stillness of life did not in the least resemble peace."

Crocodiles! expedition_events.640

While navigating the river, one of our men is irremediably dragged down while checking the conditions of the hull.

"On silvery sandbanks hippos and alligators sunned themselves side by side. A scream was heard at dawn, but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and clamor. After drowsily following the sound, we found that one of our men had been dragged into the depths of the river by a pair of sharp jaws, bright eyes, emerald-like skin."

Life Prevails expedition_events.641

After an interminable minute of fighting, our man manages to block the crocodile's jaws with a wooden plank and rapidly get back on board.

"Screams and struggle and fear. Hitting and biting and swimming. Closed eyes and trembling hands and relief sighs. We looked at the man that had been fighting death itself, I put my hand on his shoulder, "rest now.""

A Moment of Silence expedition_events.642

After an interminable minute of fighting, nature proves inescapable.

"The sharp sound of jaws closing is interrupted by a softer texture. We wish we had the power to stop hearing. The steamboat finds its way through velvet-tinted water."

Rear Column expedition_events.650

We arrived at a missionary camp, finding there the food and rest we had been craving. The lack of aliments during our journey has tempted a man to request the division of the expedition.

"Anything similar to his expression I had never seen before—or I had, in my younger years, when fascination and hope were mixed with ambition and desire. Oh, I wasn't touched, I was terrified. The skin surrounding his mouth was not curved in a smile, but cracked into ecstasy. "Let me stay behind, …, I'm begging you."

News from the Rear Column expedition_events.651

Letters have been sent to … by the few honorable men that are still left alive behind us. The Rear Column has turned into the gloomy circle of some Inferno.

"We could not even guess the fate of those that we had left behind. We continued sailing without looking back, for the temptation of remorse was to reach us and fill us with regret of not staying back ourselves. The atrocities that had been taking place there were unknown to us, unsuspected. And it may have been better that way."

Mutiny! expedition_events.652

A mutiny has been raised by the men that had demanded the division of the expedition.

"Elusive glances, avoidant words. There was something in the countenance of some of our men that made me wish I had listened to their petitions to stay behind, not because I wanted to fulfill their selfish wishes, but because their company had become contemptible to me. "Mister …," I heard, while turning around to face a cold gun pointed at my chest, "it would be advisable to turn back.""

Trading Enclave expedition_events.660

The expedition has reached an Arabian outpost of trading merchants, who have offered to exchange their food for part of our ammunition and weapons.

"We followed the immense uncoiled snake, its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country and its tail lost in the depths of the land. We followed that tail, like a group of voracious hunters, and then the serpent was lost. When we emerged from the jungle, a small enclave was laid before us, its inhabitants dressed in the fashion of men north of the desert. They looked at us with curious eyes and pointed at our weapons. "Food," one of them said, showing our hungry and defeated hunters a loaf of bread."

Into the Jungle expedition_events.670

Our estimations had not taken into account the difficulties that the … forest would cause to our expedition. The two months that we had devoted to this region of the Congo are most likely to be doubled.

"We could not understand that we were already too far. I tried to talk to our officers about it, but they would just dismiss it saying that we were not that deep into the jungle. They could not understand that we were already too far—not into the jungle, not into the river, not even into this immaculate night of starry firmament and profound silence. We are traveling towards the end of the times, towards the beginning of the times, those first ages, these last ages, there is hardly any sign here for us: advance, go back, silence against the roaring jungle—just silence."

The Seven Cataracts expedition_events.680

While walking through the forest of …, the expedition follows the rumor of water currents until reaching uncharted waterfalls.

"It was like raising the curtain. The greenness of the jungle had made us forget all the other colors, we were deaf to the vivacity of the world. And there it was, finally. We had penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness and pierced it with our teeth. We had eaten and swallowed it, emerging back with bloody hands, bloody mouth—red, a new color. We pushed the vegetation aside, walking through wood, leaves, stone. Blue. White. The waterfalls were standing before us inviting, grand, inspiring, savage. They looked like the only source of water in a world of thirst."

A Generous Present expedition_events.690

The expedition has stopped their journey through … at a local village, where … … has kindly offered a gift exchange as a token of peace.

"We arrived at dawn. We heard noises and what we thought to be human voices in the middle of the jungle. Our tired bodies could only focus on those voices, any voices apart from our own. We arrived at dawn and they were not expecting us, but they had already seen some of our kind. The … who looked like their leader came to us, announcing that … name was … and with concise and friendly gestures invited us to spend the day with them, handing a necklace to my own surprised self."

An Unexpected Group expedition_events.695

As the expedition advances, the lush jungle reveals an unlikely sight: members of the lost … expedition lay sickly in improvised hammocks.

"It was as though a veil had been rented. I saw on that ivory face the expression of somber pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror—of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath: "The horror! The horror!""

Word Spread expedition_events.696

Soon after their triumphant return, the expedition led by … has been denounced by … as rumors escalate about their participation in their lost expedition's fate.

"Bronze stains on their clothes, sun-eroded marks, oxidated. Their faces turned in a childish grimace, now they smile, now they laugh, now they—regret. Perhaps. The blood has been dried for weeks, months even. Did they hate it? Did they take pride in their actions? Could they ever get away? Forget it? Loathe it? It's been dried for weeks, months even."