Explorer's diet, Darkest Africa

[Sir Rodney Ffing]

OK, a strange request for help I know, but I would welcome input from anyone who has read more widely than me on personal memoirs of African exploration.

For reasons which I could explain but won't bother you with, I would like to know what could be regarded as typical foodstuffs for a European explorer to take on an expedition to Africa for their own consumption during the Congo period.  A supply of hampers from Fortnum & Mason would have been nice, but probably wouldn't have lasted that long.  Canned food had been around for some time, but would cans be taken and what would be in them? A large caravan would no doubt have had cattle and goats for fresh meat, but could this have been more sophisticated than roasting a carcass over a spit or cutting off a few steaks, e.g. made into a tasty native dish? Was bread made? (OK, probably not a nice Bloomer or Cottage loaf, but some form of flatbread was probably feasible.) And if trade with native villages included vegetables, any ideas what kind?

Which brings me on to drink.  I daresay any self respecting British explorer would have a hip flask and the means to refill it, as well as a plentiful supply of tea leaves, but what about bottled beer?

Can someone shed light on the kind of fare that sustained these intrepid chaps across the Dark Continent?

   

[Michi]

I would guess that the assembly as well as the quality and quantity of their provisions was directly depending on the number of porters in a column who could be achieved. I´d suppose that they were therefore rather independent from what the land provided (at least as long as all went as planned and was in scheduled time). Wherever the need was for fresh produce or meat, hunting and trapping could have been an option (they should have had native/local advisors/porters/guards with them) or trading stuff such as glass gems and the like. However I learned that once the Congo region fell under Belgian colonialism the later "explorers" pretty much lived on foraging the villages of natives who were forced to produce rubber.

[Plynkes]

Stanley took live goats on his expedition to find Livingstone, which he supplemented by shooting such things as antelope along the way. He seems to have limited his luxuries to tea, coffee and sugar. I mostly get the impression that they procured their provisions from locals, using the cloth, beads and wire they took with them as money. He expressly states that's what all the trade stuff was for (though you'd also have to use a fair amount of it as presents to stay on good terms with local potentates a good deal of the time).

At one point Stanley does actually list what they bought in Ujiji, but it was Christmas, so they might have pushed the boat out a bit more than usual:

Fat broad-tailed sheep,
Goats,
zogga and pombe (I've no idea what zogga is, but pombe is local East African beer, so I presume zogga is some other kind of native booze),
eggs,
fresh milk,
plantains,
singwe (beats me),
fine cornflour,
fish,
onions,
sweet potatoes,
etc., etc. (his words, I guess he just got bored listing it at that point.)

They also tasted some things along the way you might not expect to find in Darkest Africa. Stanley showed up at a Jesuit mission and discovered they had a wine list to rival a Parisian restaurant: "Champagne cliquot, La Rose, Burgundy and Bordeaux were all of the finest quality."


I'll have a dig through some of my books later, and see if I can find any further first-hand accounts. That one happened to be to hand.

[Plynkes]

Had a bit of a skim through our old mate John Hanning Speke's account of his famous trip with Grant. Doesn't mention what provisions they set out with other than the obligatory twenty-two goats following them merrily along. You do get the impression that these guys didn't bring much from home, though. It was all procured when they got there (must be remembered that in those days just getting to East Africa would have taken a fair while). Also, some of these trips to find the source of the Nile took years, so anything brought with them would be quickly gone. Food does seem to have been a pressing concern at the front of his mind, as every other page he is either boasting about how they managed to feed themselves, or moaning about the difficulties encountered trying to do so.

At one point he mentions living off guinea-fowl, green pigeons and doves, and trading cloth for more goats. He does seem to have taken a shot at any living creature he came upon, for scientific purposes, pure trophy hunting and sustenance (usually all three at the same time). Here's just one of his "bags":

"two brindled gnu, water-boc, pallah-boc and one pig, enough to feed abundantly the whole camp around."

He also describes killing and eating rhinoceros, antelope and zebras.

They bought rice at a place called Kiruru, as they knew it was the last place it was cultivated on their trip, and they wouldn't be able to get any later. Buying corn also seems to have been a common feature. He also mentions entering a region devastated by slavers, with no occupied villages to be found. This delayed the expedition because they had counted on being able to buy grain, so they had to send men back to places previously visited to restock their supplies. Also talks of areas of short commons, where the villagers had nothing to sell, and that caused them problems too.



Edited for shocking spelling and grammar.

[Sir Rodney Ffing]

Some great information there guys, and thanks very much for taking the time to reply. 

I have found some extracts from Stanley's "How I Found Livingstone" online and he certainly goes on a lot about food from what I have seen.  Must get a copy!

Puzzled by "singwe" too; the extract refers to "singwe trees" with plentiful mushrooms growing nearby, so perhaps Stanley just meant mushrooms?  I have also come across intriguing references to a native cook ruining custard and pies for the European palate, but being able to eat them himself.  Oh for some recipes!

[Plynkes]

That shopping list is from an occasion when the cook burnt the roast and spoiled the custard! Stanley wanted to give him a sound thrashing, but was too sick to do so, I believe.