New-York tribune., 1867-04-11
. Nj " PUBLICATIONS.

q
This Yelume il wfs one of the chief purposes of NJ
Du Chau, to obtain materials for the yind-atioD OF
the narrative of his previous explorations, on which
doubt bad been thrown by certain English naturalss
and critics. Although naturally wounded ly the I'M
generous commente which his statements had called
forth he cherished i'll viii towards his detractos
oosGdent that the time would come when he would
bo able to esIabslthe substantial truth of the ac-
sonntswhich he has given 20 the pubhc. lhe record
of his late journey 6r. the present volume contains
AMPLE details concerning tie geography natural fls
terry otLaelOgy, and manners and customs ol JDe Po"
pie of equatorial Africa aho.dng conclusive evidence
effhe enterprise persistence and zeal OF the traveller
the wisdom and courSge of his conduct in dealing
with the natives and his integrity and caTetGncss
In relating the facts of is experience on the porIous
iourney b. Du Chaillu had the misfortune TO lose a
portion of his manuscripts together with nearly the
whole of his expensive optf. including set Of phO
tographc aud meteorological apparatus ut his At
tempt 10 escape from the hostility Of the natives
whom he encountered toward the end of his roCte.
HI spite ef this calamity ard although disappointed
IN his hope Of reaching tributary Of the Nile, and
thus returning by way OF the Mediterranean. his
journey in The interior qbouhded in novel incidents
and afforded him arch store Of information. wh,th
he has turned 10 admirable account in this work.
The startiEg-pointO Of lis tour the African coast
the mouth OF lie river called Felnand Vaz, about
1iOmilcs from Gaboon, the principal center OF trade
IN Western EGatoria Africa. Tn order to transport
sAis large equpment from England, he chartered
schooner OF nearly 100 tuns burden, and set sail
fOm Grave>end on The 9th of August, 1863
The voyage lasted little ncre than two
msI.hs. and on arriving at the month of the
Tiver on the 10th Of October he had the pleas
are # recognizing many of his old friends,
who put of from shore in casOes 10 welcome the AT
Tyal Of the vessel Tise rainy season haG commenced;
the surf rolled mountain high land thc landing
wac not little dangerous. Tie first boat, however,
reached the shore without accident. \ crowd OF
several hundred savages dancing and shouting with
frantic JOY, greeted theis well known gnost, after
an absence OF Eour years. The news of his arrival
soon spread Though the ce4Intry For several days
She natives cane trooping IN 10y land and water TO
ee their friend ald the good things he had Brought
with him. 1T night bOnfres were ht, and the thIong
of rude, haif-dresoed but eoOd-hemored negroes
danced around them, making hideous din With
their 5nonotonOrs dreaming and songs.
The kext step pas TO retum on board the schooner,
and pTepare to dissmbaak the outfit ii contained,
among other thines, a set of astronomical nstru-
ents stoge of Photographic materials sufficient to
make 1900 pictures, a large stock OF boxes glass
tubes and TIE like, in order 10 collect insects and
worries and quantity of arse2c for the preser alton
of stuffed specimens of animals Three native canoes
were brought alongside the schOOher and IN one Of
them were placed the scientific instruments, seXants
GhronOmeters. prismatjc compasses' aud barometels
five large Geneva musical boxes for presents
10 the chiefs, five barrels of salt meat, case
Of 1900 rife bullets, n box of medicines, and
many other valuable articles. The captain of the
schooner, with Du Chaillu, embarked in this
boat, and set off amidst the cheers of the dnsky
paddleTs. The two other canoes took the surf first
The rollers perfectly terrific the boats seemed
buried in the seethpg spray; bpt they gained the
shore in safety Not so fortunate vas the one which
carried "CFsar and his fortunes" The b,eakefs
swelled up with headlcng speed toward the snoa,
and iIsttSd Of riding on their crest, the fra canoe
Was sWamped by huge wave which hurled the pas
sengers to q distance. The sea was a mass Of foam
ing biows; the strong swimmers were exhausted in
few moments; but the negroes with great eXertiOns
kept them from sinking, and buoyed them up with
their bodies. Canoes were launched for the res
cue from the shore, but they were all upset one after
the other At length there was ull III the fury OF
the waves and taking favorable moment, boat
succeeded in reaching the halfdrowned men, and de
lvered them from their perilous situation.
After making several excursions in the country %
the Fernand Vaz VI. Du Cbaillu started on his Jour
ney for the interior toward the end of September
1864 having devoted nearly year TO the exploration
Of places in the yicny Of the coast His stores and
outfit filed two large canoes He took pQ lees thaa
fortyseyen large Isis of Goods boside tom hoxes
of Photographic apparatus and chemicals aud fifty
voluminous bundles Of miscellaneous articles. He
had also in ammunition 800 pounds of gunpowder.
$50 pounds Of shot, and 5000 bali cartidges:, His
guard consisted Of more then hundred meil The
chief of these was Igala, stalYart negro OF tall
'fgure Ind noble bearing, fellow of clear and
ker.dnd ideas brate AS lion, but docile and
subnfssiye to his master. They were all dressed
In a sort of African uniform. consisting OF thick
ranvas trowseTs blue wooden shirts, and W0steo
cans Each man had blanket to keep him warm at
might .
The Journey through the wilderness for about three
,nontbs was attended by specially adverse chcm-
stance when soon after New Years Day OF 1850, the
small pox broke out with great violence at NJ Du
Cbaillu's temporary headquarters in an African WI
lace named Olenda. This event caused almost fatai
obstacles to the progress OF the expedition lne
first victim was the head wife OF the hlng' Inc
awful scourge spread with terrible rapidly Inc
people of the surrounding villages kept themselves
Mt distance Not a day passed without its victims
Each fresh death was announced by the hiing oil
guns. sound which brought pang OF SORROW to the
heart of the stranger From morning to night his
solitude was disturbed By the mOurniul songs winch
were raised by the relatives around the coIpSes OF
the dead The curses of the natives fell thick on he
traveller Us the cause OF their calamltles. soon a
new misery came in the shape OF famine. There was
NO one left to gather food. The men who went III
search of il in the neghhofing villages were dryea
back by the stricken inhabitants VINO beiieYed
that they were the carriers OF the plague ana the
famine At leagth fatal blow was struck bY tle
death of the King whose friendship had stood Dy
Du Chailu in every emergency. The once cheerful
a.L.w haH "A