Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-10-06
Difficulties Encountered by stanley.

SANKEY'S narrative gives us vivid idea
of travel in Africa under its best con
dltions; that is to say, through country
fairly known, which has been visited by
white men. and is now traversed by fire.
quent caravans. Sometimes they crossed
broad and bleak plains, where food was
scarce and cloth vanished fast, and some
times they came to hilly countries, where
the people we're civil and hospitable.
Sometimes they were in troublesome dis
trlcts, where there were 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, s'and some days Nature
and man alike varied against US, while
on others both seemed combined to bless
u.s." Other troubles came to the intrepid
commander and his small army, NOR.
especially that potent and untiring enemy
of all African travel-Typhus. This was
the enemy who menaced Stanley at Fan
zibar,and never lett his footsteps until he
embarked at Loanda; who followed him
night and day, doing his awful will on the
expedition. And so from these MIS-
fortunes--from famine and fatigue, from
| fever and massacre, from mutiny and
death-the little army dwindied away;
and it is wonder that it did not return,
or at least content itself with visiting
Livlngstone's country and exploring Vic
toria 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 Goes it surprise us that amid all
these dlscouragements, the heart of
Stanley should have faltered. s'The ex-
petition seemed doomed. Promises of
reward, kindness, threats, punishment had
no effect.' But at the same time the
spirit of the leader was felt in the com
mand. "The white men," he SAYS, '.al-
though selected out of the ordinary class
OF Englishmen, did their work braveIy,
heriocally. Though suffering from fever
and dysentery, insulted by natives, march
Ing under the heat and equatorial rain
storms, they at all times proved them
selves 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 dong
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 al
most at an end.
Sometimes Stanley was in the wilder
ness without guides. This, however,
seemed happiness compared to his pos
ltlon when he did have guides who be-
trayed him, as happened early in his ex-
petition in Ukinbu, near the elephant
country. In Ukimbu the guides ran away
and Stanley found himself on the edge
OF wilderness with but ten days pro
visions. He had trusted his guide, and
purchased small quantity of food. He
endeavoring to pierce the wilderness, but
his track was lost in maze of elephant
and rhinoceros trails. He could only de-
pend upon his compass. The second day
found a jungle Of acacia and eureorbia
through which the men had to crawl and
scramble along the ground. Esunder ma
tural tunnels OF embracing shrubbery,
cutting the convoivuli and .creepers,
thrusting aside stout thorny 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
straggl lie and faint. Some managed to
reach camp, where medicine and restora-
tives 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 day they came to village, but
the village comprised only four negroes,
their wives and little ones, and had no
food for such large command. Stanley
learned that there was another village
tWenty-nlne miles away, named Suna, and
he sent a picked band of twenty, the
strongest and most enduring, to visit
Suna and bring food. He secured the
woods for game, but there was no game
A hons den was found. In this d en- were
two young lions, which were killed and
skinned.
But to what avail were two lion cubs
to an expedition oil starved men2 Surely
here was death at last-death, defeat,
humiliation; and this proud expedition
which had set out so gloriously from Fan
zlbar. resolved to force the mystery Of a
continent and fight Its way TO the Allan
tic, why, all that could happen to it was
to perish in an African Jungle of lions
and elephants, to perish as so many had
done before, leaving only the name of
Stanley to be added to the sad, dismal
roll of martyrs to African discovery.
returning to camp" says Stanley, ''from
the fruitless hunt"-nothing in all that
wilderness but the two lion cubs-'sI was
struck with the punched races of the poor
neople that could have almost wept, if
[ might have done so without exciting
fear of our fate in their minds resolv.
ed to do something toward relieving the
pressing needs Of fierce hunger" Stan
ley had medical stores, which in such an
exped: tion are sacred trust. He open
ed sheet iron trunk and made it serve
as pot. Into this pot he deled out five
pounds Of Scotch oatmeal-perhaps the
most precious of all his possessions-and
three tins of ''revalenta arabica," and
made Cruel. sit was rare sight" he
says, 'to see those poor famine stricken
people hasten to that Torquay dress