FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE ARABS — CAPTURE OF TWO OF THEIR FORTS

The day following the Commandant's arrival at the Lomami we heard that some of Sefu's people had crossed the river about eight hours' march below us. Not thinking it a very serious matter, we sent a detachment of forty men under a black sergeant named Albert Frees and a corporal called Benga, together with Lupungu, Kolomoni, and their people, to reconnoitre and, if necessary, fight. Albert Frees, a Monorovian by birth, was a wiry little man of about five feet six, who spoke English with a strong American twang and much volubility.

His energy and intelligence were extraordinary in a man who had had no education. Benga was a native of Sierra Leone, a thick-set heavy-faced negro, who seldom spoke unless he had