Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1877-12-22
stanIey's Journey Down the Congo.


letter to the New York Herald describ-
ing his journey down the Congo River
have endeavored to take you rapid
ly through few of our thousand and
one experiences as we struggled through
the dense darkness and mystery of the
unknown into light. A few exciting
contests l have briefly described-con-
tests with human demons who delighted
in craft, fraud, treachery and cruelty,
who regarded as much as we regarded
the noble beasts that roved over the
plains of Usukuma, as so many heads of
seasoned game to be slaughtered and
carved, and broiled and eaten. They
attacked us with spears, assegays, poi
soned arrows, and muskets, and at one
time they actually surrounded our camp
with hidden nets, They drove poisoned
sticks into the ground, SO that in the
charge to scatter them from the neigh
borhood of our camp our people might
have their feet pierced with these instru-
ments of torture. On all sides death
stared us in the face, cruel eyes watched
us day and night, and thousand bloody
hands were stretched out to take adj
defended ourselves like men who knew
that pusillanimity would be our ruin
that mercy was unknown to these saw
ages. Out of the charity and regard for
my own people, and myself as well, on
whom devolved the responsibility of
taking the expedition through these saw
age regions, wished naturally that it
might have been otherwise, and looked
anxiously and keenly for any sign of
fOrbearance and peace, as saw my At
rican comrades, drop one by one from
my side in the oblivion of the terrible
wilds. We thank heaven that those
dark days are over.
Yet we had some briefest intervals Of
pleasure even during that stormy peri
cd. One pacific tribe-the day after a
desperate battle with martial tribe
above, who, it seemed, had oppressed
them greatly-warned by the huge
drums that sounded the approach of
strangers, turned out in dense crowds
along the river banks, while the bold
est of their warriors manned their enor-
nous canoes and bore down on us, tax
ing care, however, to cry out the magic
word, "Sennene!" which caused us to
drop our guns and echo the happy word
with such fervor Of lungs that the thou
sands on the bank, who might have been
a little distrustful, instantly distin-
guished its hearty sincerity, and repeat
ed it with equal fervor, until for a time,
even after they had ended, the forests
across the river seemed to thunder mys-
teriously, "Sennene! Sennene!" We
dropped our stone anchors abreast, and
near enough to the vast crowds on the
banks, and invited the warriors in the
canoes to approach
From childish shyness they would not
come nearer than so yards or so, and
two old women-ladies, l ought to call
them" manned" small canoe, and,
coming straight to my boat, they
brought their tiny vessel alongside, and
after an Introductory laugh offered us
palm wine and a couple of chickensi
Presently the warriors, shamed out of
their shyness-it was not fear-drew
their canoes alongside-great, enormous
things, twice the length of our boat, and
completely hid, almost crushed, the tiny
canoe Of the women; but the most pleas
ing sight to me, to which my eyes were
constantly attracted, was the faces of
the two women, and the tiny messenger
of peace and comfort to us in the midst |
of our days of trial. On looking into the |
great war-canoes of this tribe observed |
with pleasure that there was not one
spear or bow and arrow in any of them,
which caused me, to confirm my opinion |
Of their tact and delicacy, to look more |
at the crowds on the bank, |
and there was not one weapon Of war |
visible anywhere. Presently / observed |
one huge canoe make off for the shore,
load gourds of palm wine and baskets
of potatoes, and return. each man SING.