Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1878-10-04
DIrlcultIes Eucountered by Stanley.

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Difficulties Encountered by Stanley.
Stanley's narrative gives us vivid
idea of travel in Africa under its best
conditions that is TO say, through a
country fairly known, which has been
visited by white men, and is now ira
versed by frequent caravans. Some
times they crossed "broad and bleak
plains, where food was scarce and cloth
vanished fast" and sometimes they
came to billy countries, where the peo-
pie we're civil and hospitable. Some
times they we're in troublesome dis
tricts, where there we're warning tribes,
where the people were treacherous or
hostile, and then Stanley could only
sleep with his hand on his rifle. There
were furious tempests, Sand some days
nature and man alike warred against us,
while OH others both seemed combined
to bless u.s." Other troubles came to
the intrepid commander and his small
army, more especially that potent and
untiring enemy of all African travel
Typhus. This was the enemy who
menaced Stanley at Zanzibar, and never
left his footsteps until he embarked at
Loanda who followed him night and
day, doing his awful will upon the ex-
petition. And 80 from misfortunes-
from famine and fatigue, from fever and
massacre; from mutiny and death-the
little army dwindled away and it is
wonder that it did not return, or at
least, content itself with visiting Living
stones country and exploring Victoria
N'yanza, and return with the report
which has been brought for so many
centuries-that Africa continued hostile
to those who came to WOO her, and
would not be won. Nor does it surprise
us that, amid all these discouragements,
the heart of Stanley should have falter-
ed. "The expedition seemed doomed.
Promises of reward, kindness, threats,
punishments, had 10 effect" But at
the same time the spirit of the leader
was felt in the command. "The white
men" he says, "although elected out
of the ordinary class of Englishmen, did
their work bravely, heroically. Though
suffering from fever and dysentery, in
suited by natives, marching under the
heat and equatorial rain storms, they at
all times proved themselves of noble,
manly natures, stout-hearted, brave,
and, better than all, true Christians. !"
These are the men by whom empires
are made, but for them there was no
empire but the memory of duty we'll
done no trophy, no reward, unless
what is to come as the reward for we'll
doing in the final day of account. Two
of them were to sleep near the banks of
Victoria N'yanza, victims of disease /;
the other was to be whirled into eternity
over the rapids of the Congo, when his
journey was almost at an end.
Sometimes Stanley was in the wilder
ness without guides. This, however,
seemed happiness compared to his
position when he did have guides who
betrayed him, as happened early in his
expedition in Ukimbu, near the elephant
country. In Ukimbu the guides ran
away, and Stanley found himself on the
edge of wilderness with but ten days
provisions. He had trusted his guides,
and purchased small quantity of food
He endeavored to pierce the wilderness,
but his track was lost in maze of ele-
plant and rhinoceros trails. He could
only depend upon his compass. The
second day found jungle of acacia and
euphorbia, through which the men had
to crawl and scramble along the ground,
"under natural tunnels of embracing
shrubbery, cutting the convolvuli and
creepers, thrusting aside stout thony
bushes, and by various detours taking
advantage of every slight opening the
Jungle afforded" There was no water.
Overcome with hunger and thirst, the
command began to struggle and faint.
Some managed to reach camp, where
medicine and restoratives brought them
strength. Five never returned. One
of them was found dead in the woods,
and of the other four it is believed "they
hopelessly wandered on until they also
fell down and died" On the fifth daJ
they came to village, but the village
comprised only four natives, their wives
and little ones, and had no food for such
large command. Stanley learned that
there was another village twenty mine
miles away, named Suna, and he sent q
picked band of twenty, the strongest
and most enduring, to visit Suna and
bring food. He secured the woods fol
game, but there was no game. A lions
den was found. In this den were two
young lions, which were killed and
skinned. But of what avail were two
lion cubs to an expedition of starved
men? Surely here was death at last
death, defeat, humiliation and this
proud expedition which had set out 80
gloriously from Zanzibar, resolved to
force the mystery of q continent and
fight its way to the Atlantic, why, all
that could happen to it was to perish in
an African jungle Of lions and elephants,
to perish as 80 many had done before,
leaving only the name of Stanley to be
added to the sad, dismal roll of martyrs
to African discovery. Returning tc
camp" says Stanley, "from the fruit
less hunt nothing in all that wilder
ness but the two lion cubs" l was sc
struck with the pinched faces of my poor
people that could have almost wept, il
/ might have done so without exciting
fear of our fate in their minds. I re.
solved to do something toward relieving
the pressing needs of fierce hunger. y
Stanley had medical stores, which, in
such an expedition are a sacred trust.
He opened sheet-iron trunk and made
it serve as q pot, Into this pot he doled
out five POUNDS of Scotch oatmeal-per.
haps the most precious of all his posses.
sions-and three tins of ravelenta
arabica," and made Cruel. "It was q
rare sight," he says, to see those poor
famine-stricken people hasten to that
Torquay dress trunk and assist me to
cook the huge pot of Cruel to watch
them fan the fire to fercer heat, and
with their gourds full Of water, stand by
to cool the foaming LIQUID when il