Henry Morton Stanley Dr. David Livingstone, of whom little had been heard since his departure for Africa in 1866 to search for the source of the Nile. Stanley travelled to Zanzibar in March 1871, later claiming that he outfitted an expedition with 192 porters. In his first dispatch to the "New York Herald", however, he stated that his expedition numbered only 111. This was in line with figures in his diaries. Bennett, publisher of the "New York Herald" and funder of the expedition, had delayed sending to Stanley the money he had promised, so Stanley borrowed money from the United States Consul. During
Livingstone Inland Mission prevented all further progress. Meanwhile the "Henry Reed", a wood-burning steamer with a shallow draft had been shipped out from England in sections. It was carried up the river to Stanley pool by 1,000 porters, reaching Leopoldville in April 1881, and after assembly was launched on 24 November 1881. The mission also acquired the steam launch "Livingstone", launched on the lower Congo in May 1881. By 1881 the mission had established four missions on the lower Congo. That year they made their first converts, who traveled back to London for the first baptism in 1882. In the first five years,