The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-09-27
STANLEY'S STORY.

marvellous journey is narrated below:
After completing the exploration of
Lake Tanganyika, and settling definitely
by actual survey the question of the
outflow of the lake by what was believed
to be the River Lakuga, but which he
has proved to be only creek draining
into the lake except where the waters of
the great inland sea attain an extraor-
binary level, Stanley and his followers
pushed across the country to Nyangeve,
on the Lualaba. Stanley left Niangwe on
the 18th of November, 1876, and travelled
overland through Uregga. The task of
penetrating the unexplored wilds that
stretched before him to the westward
was calculated to impress him with a
sense Of danger that nothing but the
stern call of duty and the promptings of
ambitious resolution could overcome.
He was about to plunge into a region
where he would be as completely cut off
from hope of succor, if fortune not did
favor him in his journey, as if he were
wandering on the surface of another
planet.
After an arduous.s march of many days
through d country filed with difficulties,
and being compelled to transport on the
shoulders of his men every pound of
provisions and other stores necessary for
the transcontinental journey, and besides
carrying in a similar manner the Sec
tions of the Lady Alice, exploring boat,
and the arms and ammunition of his
party, Stanley found himself brought to
a stand by immense tracts of dense for
est, through which all attempts at
progress were futile. Finding that he
could not advance along the line he had
at first intended to follow, Stanley
crossed the Lualaba and continued his
journey along the left bank of the river,
passing through the district known as
Northeast Ukusu. On this route he en-
deavored to find an outlet westward, but
the jungle was so dense and the fatigues
of the march SO harassing that it seemed
impossible for him to succeed in passing
the tremendous barrier of the forest To
add to the horrors of his position in
these Central African wilds, Stanley
found himself opposed at every step by
the hostile cannibal natives. His march
through these cannibal regions soon be-
came almost hopeless. There was no
cessation to the fighting day or night.
The advance was succession of charges
in rude skirmishing order by an advance
guard, whose duty it was to clear the
road for the main body. Stanley's eff
forts to appease the savages were una
vailing. The patient behavior of Stan
ley's men they regarded as cowardice,
SO that no course remained open to the
explorer but to fight his way onward,
with as little loss as possible. To
render Stanley's position still more de
plorable, his escort of lao natives, whom
he had engaged for the service at Nv
angwe refused to proceed further on the
journey, and deserted him. Finding his
ranks thinned by the desertion of the
Nyangwe men, the hostiles concentrated
for grand attack on Stanley, with the
object of completely crushing him.
There was only one way to escape from
the hapless position in which Stanley
now found himself, unless he accepted
the alternative of returning to Nyangwe
and abandoning the work which he had
undertaken. This was to make use of
canoes. With the Lady Alice as last
reliance, and good canoes for the party,
Stanley concluded that he could advance
with better prospect of success than in
any other way. Although he had de-
clded advantage over the savages on the
water, Stanley still found that each DAYS
advance was but repetition of the
struggle of the day previous. It was
desperate fighting all the time while
pushing down the river with might and
main. In the midst of these struggles
Stanley's journey on the river was inter
rupted by series of great cataracts. To
pass these he had to cut his way through
thirteen miles of forest and drag his
eighteen canoes and his exploring boat,
Lady Alice, overland. After passing
the cataracts Stanley and his party had
long breathing pause from the toll of
dragging their boats through the forest.
They were also comparatively secure
from attack, and took measures to re-
cruit their exhausted strength before
again encountering the dangers of the
journey westward. Stanley found oppor-
tunity to note the interesting changes and
physical characteristics of the route.
At two degrees north latitude he found
that the course of the Great Lualaba
swerved from its almost direct northerly
direction to the northwestward, to the
westward, and then to the southwest
ward, developing into broad stream
varying in width from two to ten miles,
and choked with islands. To avoid
struggles with the tribes of desperate
cannibals that inhabited the mainland
on each side of the river, Stanlev's
canoe fleet padded between the islands,
taking advantage of the shelter they af-
forded as protection from attack. In
this way many miles down the stream
were made by the expedition unmolest
ed by the natives. But this safety from
attack was purchased by much suffering.
Gut off from supplies in the middle of
the great river, starvation threatened to
destroy the expedition. The most ex-
IRENE hunger was endured by the party,
which passed three entire days absolute
ly without any food. This terrible state