The Lake County star., 1877-05-10

Il
years and five months, and the greate
part Of that time he was on the tramp
II was one Of the weariest marches
ever made, and all Its hardships wer'
endured with q quiet, unboastful hero
ism. He acomplished his unparallet
exploits-he Is the only white mar
who ever crossed the continent-with
out an act Of cruelty or injustice. HI
has published an account OF his expl0r
ations. The narrative IL made up Of q
multitude Of details, descriptions oi
country, and of different tribes and
individuals, and from IL all the reader
gets vivid impression Of the land and
It's inhabitants, but It Ii impossible to
give this impression except by giving
the details. Cameron writes good En-
glish and with simplicity and clear.
ness without any attempt at color.
A first and superficial idea Is that
Central Africa is horrible country,
and that its people are the most selfish,
cruel and sordid In existence. But
this Is not the final impression. Africa
Is a land Of rich and varied products,
of noble rivers, splendid forests, fertile
valleys, with an abundance Of miner
ais, and growing with the feebleet cul-
tivation the great staples Of life and OF
commerce. 1t isa land of magnificent
mountains and great lakes, Of wonder
full vegetation, and the traveller, In the
midst Of his acutest suffering, was Oft
en- com PEELED to admire this enchant-
ing scenery. We judge that he saw
occasionally the counterpart Of our
western rolling prairie, dotted with
ciumps of forest like an English park,
but some Of the scenery surpassed In
paradisaic beauty anything he had ever
seen.
The natives are bad enough, savage
enough, repulsive in habits. morals,
appearance, treacherOus, stingy, inhOs-
pitable and cruel. But, bad as they
are, they are better than the half-castes,
the traders, Arabs, mulatt0es, Portu-
guese and what-n0t who roam the
country In caravans in search Of slaves
and ivory. 1t is these slave expedi-
tions that have made Africa q hell,
sowing suspicion and teaching greed.
Central Africa, says Cameron, Is
being depopulated at the rate of half q
million yearly by the slave trade |;
whole villages are burned and all the
resisting inhabitants nlassacred mere
ly to obtain q few slaves. Without
this accursed trade. the lands would
be steadily cultivated, and tribes
would dwell In considerable prosperity,
for they do not lack many Of the aids
of real civilization. Drunkenness Is
q great vice. The great chiefs are mon.
sters of cruelty, raiding about the
country to exact tribute and procure
women for their harems, killing. and
mutilating their subjects horribly.
And 1t Is easy to see that the trade in
slaves has helped to develope these
monsters.
Speaking of civilization we have been
interested rather to trace signs Of that
than of barbarism among the varied
peoples whom Cameron encountered
on his long march. Their civilization
Is different from ours, though 1t may
be cider, and we see at once that theirs
Is not the savagery Of our North Amer
lean tribes. They have long settled
customs and ways, that are respectable
by reason Of fge, and which bear signs
of careful elaboration. In the cultiva-
ton of the soil the natives are very far
from barbarians. In the smelling Of
iron ore and the olking Of iron and
the instruments manufactured are
often elegant In shape. They make
salt. A good deal of ingenuity Is
shown in their houses; large villages
were often encountered of well-built
and clean huts disposed in long streets.
with bark-cloth trees planted on each
side. The streets ran east and west,
and the dead are also laid In the graves
east and west. Bridge building Is an
advanced art, and Cameron found one
- k4aokaI In.
fine suspension bridge. 1t was over
broad and deep river; the cables were
not Of wire, but Of strong vines, but
otherwise the bridge was well made,
provided with side guys and servicea-
bic. Another of our institutions they
have also in perfection, and that Is
Spiritualism. Cameron found at least
one woman who constantly received
communications from her DECEASED
husband, and was regarded a. Q "me-
dium" and prophecies. And as to
other superstitions, fortune-teiling and
the like, they have as many as we.
And In one accomplishment the ma
tives generally probably exceed US,
and that IL In dressing the hair, The
Africans are natural BARRIERS. Both
men and women dress their hair with
infinite and fantastic invention. Per-
haps they do not pile 1t up higher, or
chang" It more, or frizzle Il better than
our American women, but they GER
tainly h9ve more variety and inven-
ton. One style we particularly like Is
doing up the hair In the shape of an
old fashioned sun-bonnet.. 1t not only
looks well, but It is useful. Occasion
ally q head Is 30 built up by artificial
pads and grease and mqd, that II could
not be got into q bushel basket. But
this is not common. All the mind Of
the women is given to the toilet of the
head indeed Of the rest Of the apparel
of women, to whom q p0etage-stamp
would be q superfiuity OF clothing, lit
tie can besaid. One stick Of tape, says
the explorer, would clothe several VII
lagos OF them.
Women, in fact, are not what they
should be-. They are very much inn
posed upon and held In an abject con-
dition. One great chief who called on
Cameron, had q wife with him lhe
different one every time he
came) in order that he might rest his
feet In her lap when he sat down. OF
another he says, "When Kasong0
sleeps at home his bed room furniture
consists of members Of his harem.
Some, on hands and knees. form q
couch with their backs; and others.
lying fiat on the ground, provide soft
carpet" The tribes who are the worst
and most filthy cannibals don't like
women and never eat them when they
can get man-meat. Such Is the de-
graded estimate Of the fair sex. With
some tribes It IL q custom to bury many
wives with the dead chief, In one II
is the custom TO turn aside . stream,
dig trench In its bed, I'LL the bottom
with living wives, seat the body on the
back Of another living wife, have 9TH
ers support the corpse, then shovel the
earth upon the whole and turn the
river back In Its place.
Religion does not seem TO trouble
much any Of the tribes encountered;
but In the interior some rude idols
were found, fetishes were worn and
fetishmen and conjurers had consider.
able influence. But any system Of
worship or notion Of God or the future
life appears to be rare. Morals are
lower even than religion.
We should mention ~ Q comment
,sS,ou the n antinultv NJ the 6wian lake