The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-10-12
Lieut.. CamerOn's Travels in At
fica

THE announcement that Commander
Cameron was to read paper on his
journey through equatorial Africa
drew large and fashionable audience
to the Queens rooms-the meeting
place OF the geographical section
where Capt. Evans occupied the chair.
Commander Cameron, who explained
his remarks by reference to chart,
pointed out in the first instance his
route from Zanzibar westward, round |
the Tanganyika to Benguela. He
thereafter gave a detailed account of |
his journey, of the places through |
which he passed or at which he
touched, of the geographical and geo.
logical formation of the line of coun-
try over which he travelled, and of the
character and habits of its inhabitants,
and the nature of it's productions and
trade. The result of his journey was,
he said, almost definitely to settle the
line of the Central African rivers and
lakes. The two chief products of Cen
tral Africa at the present time were,
he said, ivory and slaves, and the
Arab and Portuguese traders who had
penetrated into the country carried on
the ivory trade principally as an ac-
compartment to their search for
slaves. 1t was the Portuguese chiefly
who traded to Catanga, which they
reached from Benguela on the west
coast, while the Arabs coming from
the east coast had penetrated well into
the center of the country, to the west
OF the Tanganyika, and even so far
north as to hear news of the Arab and
Turk traders who descended from the
north upon the Albert and Victoria
Nyanza, also in search of ivory and
slaves. Before reaching Tanganyika
he saw nutmegs, and the poppy, and
this part of the country seemed to be
rich in mineral products. From
Catanga westward for some distance
there were large copper mines, from
which the Portuguese traders drew
supplies. In the Tanganyika country
coal was to be found. Cinnabar was
to be got at Calemba, among the
sources of the many rivers there, and
tin was found on the shores of Lake
Cassara. The sugar-cane grew well
along the whole eastern cost and along
the Tanganyika, and rice in several
places grew in wild luXuriance-in one
year, as he was told, it returned a hun
dred-fold under cultivation; and wheat
was cultivated in other places. Cot
ton, too, grew well in many parts-all
along the valley of the Congo, Luala-
ba and Zambezi. In one of the ISL
ands of the Tanganyika he found hemp
growing to a great height. The whole
OF this country was at present just one
vast slave field, and there could be no
great navigable difficulties in the way
OF opening it up. All the various
products he had mentioned were here
lying waiting for any one to come
and take them away, and the way to
stop the slave trade is to open up the
great river Congo and it's sister river
Zambezi. They could get right across
the continent by system of water
navigation which had no second in the
world, and by these rivers also they
might get at the country from which
Egypt drew the greater part of it's ivo-
ry. But ivory was not the chief wealth
OF Africa; it was her vegetable and
mineral products, and education would
make her people very industrious
which, indeed, they now were where
not spoiled by the slave trade. If any
large scheme were framed to utilize
this great water communication, At
RIGA might be opened up in two or
three years. OF course money was
wanted and oxen to work.
The president thought the meeting
would be glad if Commander Cameron
would inform them by what gentle
means he was enabled to pass through
Africa without coming into hostile
contact with the natives.
Commander Cameron said the proper
way to get on with the natives was to
behave like a gentleman, and to re-
member that they understood ones be-
ing gentleman. He also well knew
that any force he might use unneces-
sarily or fundamentally would most
likely retard the advance and endanger
the safety of his successors in African
travel.
Capt. Verney, r. n, said he had
been very much struck with the great
tact that must have been required in
dealing with the native.
Maj.-Gen. Sir James E. Alexander,
X. c. B., also bore testimony, as an
old African traveller, to the merits of
Commander Cameron, and at the same
time referred to the tact which Col.
Gordon was displaying in his dealing
with the African people. He was con-
WINGED that with proper dealings to-
ward the natives, there was no need
of shooting or violence.
In reply to a question whether, in
order to put stop to the slave trade,
it would not be possible to introduce
gun-boats into Lake N'yassa, and
thence into the Tanganyika, Com
mander Cameron said the plan could
be carried out with very great pros
pect of success. There could be no
great difficulty in carrying a steamer
into and from the N'yassa to the Tan
ganyika, and it might also be possible
to Introduce the steamer from the Tan
ganyika into the Congo, and thence to
carry it to the coast. From both
coasts, at any rate, a united service
of boats might effect the purpose of
across Africa direct line
OF communication, and stations, which
should protect legal traffic and put
stop to the slave trade. But whether
any Government would spend the
money requisite to the successful car
rying out of purely philanthropic OBJ
Ject, iG was difficult to say. Perhaps
that object might be effected if a
great company like the East India
Company were chartered on the con-
dition Of their abolishing the slave