A tender image of the young Stanley with his adopted son, Kalulu.
In How I Found Livingstone …, Stanley recounts how they first met, and how simply ownership was transferred to him: “An Arab named Mohammed presented me today with a little boy-slave, called ‘Ndugu M’hali’ (my brother’s wealth). As I did not like the name, I called the chiefs of my caravan together, and asked them to give him a better name.” Having considered Simba, Ngomba and even Bombay Mdogo, “Ulimengo, however, after looking at his quick eyes, and noting his celerity of movement, pronounced the name Ka-lu-lu as the best for him …” Kalulu is the name for the blue buck antelope.
Stanley grew immensely fond of Kalulu and kept him as a constant companion. Returning to England, they spent a short time on Seychelles where a series of photographs of them were taken. The following year, Stanley published a novel after him, Kalulu, Prince, King and Slave: A Story of Central Africa (London, 1873).
They travelled together through Europe and America before setting off on Stanley’s Trans-Africa Expedition, 1874- 1877. Alas, Kalulu died tragically in March, 1877 at the Lualaba River, the headstream of the River Congo. Stanley later renamed these rapids Kalulu Falls in his honour.
Stanley, H.M., How I found Livingstone … (London, 1895), p.230.
