The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1875-10-28
STANLEY.
Interesting Advices from the Latest Afri-
can Explorer.

SoA AAPAOACIs
tFrom the London telegraph
After a long and unbroken silence
Characteristic of the vast and unbroken
solitudes through which Mr.. Stanley and
his followers have been making their
way-dispatches have again reached us
from this resolute and successful ex-
plorer. Good news, indeed, it is to
know that one of the most adventurous
and perilous journeys undertaken upon
the surface of the dark continent has
reached its first stage of triumph in the
safe transit through a totally unknown
line of country, and the careful survey
of the shores of that magnificent lake
upon the waters of which Mr.. Stanley
English-built vessel. 1t is too true that
we must qualify these epithets "good"
and "safe" so far as to acknowledge
that, with all his courage, skill, caution,
and Observation-Disclosures now no
longer denied in any quarter to this gal
liant gentleman-our Commissioner has
paid dear for the splendid results which
he has achieved.
Two of the Europeans accompanying
him succumbed TO the deadly breath of
the Jungle; and q tribute of honor and
respect is due, in the first place, to those
two young Englishmen, Pocock and
Barker, who have added their names to
the list of the many unpretending mar
tyrs who have persisted for the sake of
Africa. Moreover, In the swift and reso-
lutte march which MI. Stanley has made
since quitting Mpapwa, on the Unyan-
yembe road, last December, his force of
soldiers and porters will be found to have
diminished terribly.
We shall SO far anticipate the absorb
ing particulars of that march as to state
that, by desertion, dysentery, fever and
fierce fighting, as many as 181 of his fol
lowers were found missing from the mus
ter-ron read by the shores of Lake Vic
toria at the beginning of March. There
stood around the brave leader only 166
men when he camped at Kagehyi, in
Uchambi; but these were well seasoned
by the swift progress which Stanley had
made, and his letters, public and private,
breathe the spirit of answering resolu-
ton and of a Just satisfaction at what had
been achieved. He reports himself
amply provided with men, guns, and
supplies of all kinds, even at the close Of
this remarkable march, for that it is most
remarkable will be allowed by all who
know the condition of African travel.
From Bagamoyo to the Victoria Lake
is a distance of nearly 750 miles, follow
ing Stanley's route, and this was ac-
complished in 103 days. The last expe-
dition which proceeded to Unyanyembe
took seven months to cover that 525
miles of well known road, while the
larger portion of SANKEY'S lay through a
perfectly unknown district, the extraor-
binary hardships of which will be under
stood when we are at liberty to lay the
full details of this hardy enterprise before
the public.
Through matted jungles and waterless
plains, through mountain ranges and
swamps, over rivers and wilderness, and
with or without the leave of fierce tribes
new to the sight of the white man and
his wonderful goods, our Commissioner,
during those first months of the year,
led his men increasingly, carrying with
him all the way his little vessel, the
Lady Alice, which was at last triumph
antly put together and launched on
the broad bosom of the Victoria NJ
yanza.
Spite of all losses and difficulties, he
stood there On the LIST of March last-as
he w-ites-weIl equipped for two years
more L good work, with men whom he
could perfectly trust, and one of the
most dangerous portions of this toll ac-
complished. We feel confident tina
when the story of this march to the
N'yanza is read he will take q place in
public estimation worthy of the friend
and helper of Livingstone /; as n of
the most skillful, daring, and successful
of all modern travellers.
His first letter describes the journey
from the Unyanyembe road to the
N'yanza {; his second comprises a de-
scription of this splendid inland sea,
written after q voyage of upward OF LOU
miles made round its shores and upon
its surface. Geographcrs everywhere
will naturally burn with anxiety to know
what is the truth about that lake or lakes,
the character of which was ever one of
the main problems of African research.
Spoke, the d~iscoverer, with Grant, of
the Victoria, always held the water to be
one and undivided. He saw an immense
extent of it from Muanza, and caught
once and again distant prospects of its
western glitter as he journeyed toward
Uganda, while at the Ripon Falls he
once more beheld what he took to be
the same great lake from the northward.
Livingstone, on the other hand, from
hearsay, Judged the Victoria to consist
of al least five small bodies of water
and this idea, that it was made up of
separate lakelets, and could not be com
pared with the other inland seas of Cen
trail Africa for size or depth, has of late
gained much ground, especially as small
er sheets have been recently found near
it to the north.
sSWe must not anticipate the revelations
of Mr.. SANKEY'S second letter /; but we
can venture to assure g~eographers that
they have deeply interesting matters in
store for them in the account of the Lady
Alice sailing uponthese virgin waves, the
slow unfolding of the unvisited shores,
and the discovery of fair and rich islands
of great size set in the bosom of this
queenly lake. 1t will be found, too, we
think, by the careful and repeated OBJ
servations which Nj. Stanley trained
himself to make before his departure,
that many ideas derived from meas.
urements too blindly accepted may have
to suffer doubt. Stanley makes the Vic,
toria N'yanza much higher above the
sea-level than Spoke just as Cameron
corrected Burton and Spoke about the
altitude of Tanganyika. 1t is, at least,
evident from these differences that nc
theory can be securely founded upon
isolated observations until verified, and
this has much significance for Other
regions of the map besides those of the
N'yanza-
Trouble Brewing.
There is a cloud of war arising over the