Stanley then continued exploring and sailed into the Lualaba River in October of 1876. Near Nyangwe he met the notorious half African, half Arab slave trader Tippu Tib. Although he had quite a reputation for causing other expeditions to "disappear", he was friendly with Stanley and warned him of the cannibals downstream. Stanley persisted nonetheless, offered Tib $5000 in cold cash and received Tib's blessing as well as 60 native henchmen and his personal escort. On November 5, 1876 they set off through the jungle to bypass waterfalls.