The sun., 1873-08-28


Mr.. james Baker OF Chester, England,
has received letter from his brother, SIR Sam
uel Baker. dated on MAY u, at lsnaiia, II new
town founded by him, and named after the
khcdive.
The letter is written In magniloquent style.
Sir samuel announces that he has succeeded IN
1.-The suppression of the slave trade and the an
nexLtion of the central Nile basin to Egypt"
lie says all enemies have been crushed, and
the Government Is now triumphantly estab
llshed throughout the country"
II II Sir Samuel Bakers theory that there Is
navigabie open water from the mouth Of the
Nile through Lake Albert NyanZa aud Lake
Tanganyika some four hundred miles south of
the equator. lie thinks, moreover, that these
two lakes are really the same huge sheet Of
water. He writes in this new letter that he has
positive Information from the people of Uganda,
and also from karagwe merchants, that such is
the case. But Livingstone says otherwise, and
the extreme improbabiilty OF open water ex-
tending from the Nile to Lake Tanganyiks IA a
matter of physical geography prevents this
theory from finding many advocates; while in
matters OF fact and In the accounts OF his ad
ventures Sir samuel Bakers Irresistible pro-
cliyity to indulge his Imagination In order to
throw a halo OF glory around himself, throws
discredit on the story OF his exploits.
Sir Samuel Baker gives an interesting account
OF an attempt made by habba Rega, the ruler OF
Unyoro-MasIndi, to poison him and his troops
with plaintain cider. Moreover, while smoking
hts pipe and walking up and down the drive at
Masindi OH the next morning. he was suddenly
attacked by the natives, as he thus graphically
describes:
A sharp nre was instantly opened upon me from the
castor on bushes seou. nftseh PAGES distant cor.
man voundedi then a SO ditr fci from the fort
snot through the back eoG shv after shp, es etons
me enemy eo6eeSed N the cover IL VI mao.es We
lad bcen concealed IN the high grass.
But we are told that "the enemy was not only
repulsed, but defeated with great loss. and the
capital destroyed" At this time the whole
force under Sir Samuel Baker consisted OF lOl
men.
The expedition on its return reached the Vic
tura Nile after seven days Of nghtug and
marching. At Fatiko, Is miles to the north OF
tlus aud lGl miles south Of Ismailia, they routed
body Of slave traders, taking - prisoners,
G.gs, l5l slaves, 800 cattle, and killing more than
half their company Sir samuel says; This
nest Of pirates being broken up, the whole
country rose as one man to support the Govern
ment. At days notice 1000 men would have
risen At my word" At Fatiko, which he calls
the paradise of Africa, he constructed au I'M
prccnable fortress with deep fosse and earth
work. rock citadel 25 feet perpendicular
height OF about an acre in extent, formed the
western base. when he arrived at Ismallia, he
says;"I was delighted to hear that my great
work expended In cutting canals through the
morasses OF the Bahr Giraffe had established q
| clean river bed. This Is n great triumph Simi.
! lar energy II bestowed on tie distractions OF
the main river would doubtless render the
! White Nile nayigable a. before"
The extreme point reached by the expeditor
was the capital of oro-Masindi, In lat. l. %
north, days march from the Albert Nyanza
and 3lS miles from lsmailia Masindi Is u very
large town, counting seven or eight thousand
lighting men. The mountains ON the west o
the lake were plainly visible from this place
even the trees being visible with telescopes
! Here the poisoning and the attack took place
| on the return they struck the Victoria Nile. z,
| miles from FatikO, and on reaching the latter
! place had the hight with the slavers.
| lhc value Of Bakers acquisitions and JiscDy
! cries stu remains to be us iertaincd.