The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-10-19
Adventures of Col. Long in At
rica.

nenl given 1Or the benefit of the Suf-
ferers by fever in Savannah. Col.
Long is a native of Somerset County,
Nd, and was for seven years in the
army of Egypt, and an explorer of
equatorial Africa. He was introduced
by Gen. Felix Agnus, of the French
Benevolent Society. He wore his or
der for distinguished services confer
red by the khedive, and spoke at Ia
BILE covered with magnificent leop-
ards skin, presented to him by Mise,
one of the native Kings in Central At
RIGA. On the fiat which formed the
background of the stage was hung a
map, on which was traced the route Of
the travellers from the lakes on the
equator forming the source of the Nile
to the mouth of the river. The fol-
lowing is reporters summary of the
lecture:
The Colonel prefaced his lecture by
a brief sketch of Egypt and its pres
ent khedive and the improvements
which had been inaugurated, and
touched upon the discoveries of Sir
Samuel Baker, Grant, Spoke, and Mr..
Stanley. In speaking of the latter, he
said:
"Mr. Stanley, the Anglo-American
explorer, of the London telegram and
New York Herald, went to Lake Vic
toria ten months after | had sailed
upon its waters. His circumnaviga-
ton of the lake is creditable to his en-
ergy and perseverance, but his exag-
gerations and pretensions, while they
have provoked contempt from the pub
lie, have been aptly termed, even by a
friendly press, vulgar and in bad taste
In his ardor for reputation he speaks
OF great army of 100, 900 men, and of
population of millions in Uganda,
that have no existence save in his let
tiers to the Herald. l leave you to
judge of the quality of his conversion
of my savage friend, King Mise, to
Christianity by present of the ten
commandments, when my friend Lee
want, who has since been massacred
by hostile tribe, reports that after
Stanley had left Uganda, Mise, in
order to show his accuracy of aim, lev
eled his gun at one of his wives and
blew her brains out. 1t is not my pur-
pose to discuss his pretended discovery
of a white race-destined, perhaps, to
take rank among the discoveries re-
corded in the tales of Baron Mum
chausen."
On the 21st Of March, 1874, the Col
onel took his departure from Cairo for
Soudan, the objective point being Con
dokorO, the prospective seat of the
government which the Khedive de-
sired to establish. The Journey to
khartOum consumed twenty days, and
from thence 800 miles to GondokOro.
The days of steamboat iourneving
were on the waters of the White Nile,
through vegetation that threatened to
bar the way, and on each side were fet-
id marshes rank with poisonous odors.
upon whose treacherous surface wan
der great troops of elephants and wild
butfaloes. On the arrival of the expe-
pedltion at GondOkorO, $500 miles
from Cairo, the party separated, the
chief and the greater part of the men
returning to Cairo, leaving Col. Long
with two soldiers and the servants to
penetrate the wilderness to Victoria
Nyanza. The first 600 miles of the
route must be traversed on horses,
through a bog and jungle SO nearly
impenetrable that the travellers were
forced at times to cut their wav
through step by step. On the goth of
June the explorers arrived at the pal
ace of King Mise, of Uganda, and
were received with hospitality, and
the worthy potentate, to show the APP
probation Of his guests, caused thirty
slaves to be sacrificed in their honor.
After this horrible welcome, the King
extended the courtesy of an escort
round Lake Victoria, and made nu-
merous presents to the s'white prince"
as the Colonel was called, and the par
ty took their departure. Shortly aft
er leaving their hosts they encoun-
tered band of hostile savages sent
by kaba Rega to intercept and massa-
ere the explorers. The story of the
battle that ensued is best told in the
ColonePs own words:
1.-The morning of the 18th of Au-
gust dawned, and grateful sun,
though very hot, awoke us from a
fatigued slumber. Hastily swallow
ing the relics of our repast of the
night before, we embarked ourselves
IN our two boats, the openings of
which we had stopped with weeds and
rags. At ten o'clock we left the shore
and about midday attempted to gain
the opposite shore from which Mrooli
We're plainly to be seen. Shots were
tired III order to announce our arrival
as agreed upon. There was no reply.
Evidently Selim had not arrived, At
the same moment, to my horror and
surprise, l espied hid in the thick mass
of papyrus that lines the shore, the
sinister faces of armed men. whose
Well-filled boats were bristling with
lances, who now with wild yells, and
the beating of the Nogarrah or war
dance, deployed into the stream. It
meant war. A hurried word of eau
ton and command to every man
caused the boats to drift down with
the current, and tied quickly together
to give steadiness and security. The
iron cases, ten in number, were quickly
placed in barricade, and our FORUM
ately good stock of cartridges arranged
in convenient place for action. The
two Snyders of my men and my Reilly
elephant, with explosive shell and
three revolvers, though splendid arms,
seemed yet but idle weapons against
at least 500 savages, who, conf
dent, now advanced to the at
tack in attempting to surround
me. These were the men of
Kaba Rega, King of Unyoro, the
same who in June of 1872 attacked
and defeated Sir Samuel Baker at
Masindi. The Mtongoli, or chief, who
spoke little broken Arabic, an
DOunced to me that he had heen sent