Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1878-04-25
one OF stanleyss Adventures.

While Stanley, the African explore
was working his way down the great
river whose union with the sea he was
the first to discover, he had thirty-two
adventures with the hostile natives, in
some of which he lost number of men.
One of these adventures is thus described
by graphic correspondent of the Boston
journal:
The inhabitants had assembled on the
bank, seeing this curious boat filled with
strangers approaching, and Stanley's
men said they thought the cries, which
were almost deafening, of friendly ma
ture.
But Stanley thought not. To him the
cries seemed warlike. However, visions
of eggs, chickens, fresh milk, and, per-
haps, goats flesh, for his exhausted men,
flashed before his eyes, and he gave the
signal to put into the cove.
No sooner had the boat reached the
sloping bank, than it was hauled fifty
yards up on the shore by an hundred
hands, and before Stanley and his aston
ished men could realize where they were,
they found themselves the center of a CIR
Gle of savages, each of whom was aiming
an arrow directly at the unlucky wights.
There were several hundred of these
people, called the Bumbrich, after the
name of their island, on the shore, and
Stanley says that he expected to be in
stantly massaered. His gun and those of
his men lay in the bottom of the boat, and
to stoop to pick them up would have
brought a shower of arrows and instant
death.
So he endeavored to reason with the
savages, and showed them some cloths
and beads, which they accepted. They
crowded around the boat, however, and
one man took hold of Stanley's hair and
gave it violent wrench, thinking that it
was cap, and would come off, disclosing
wool.
This was hard to bear, and meantime.
one of Stanley's men received a stunning
blow from a spear-handIe. Then the ex-
plorer made another little speech, asking
for food and to be allowed to continue
| his journey, promising more cloth and
| beads.
The savages then made several fero
cious demonstrations, rushing down upor
him, gnashing their teeth and shaking
their spears in his very face; but they
did not kill him, and finally retired tC
consult. This mortal agony of suspense
| lasted from nine in the morning unit
three in the afternoon, during which tim'
Stanley did not get out of boat, nor die
he take his eyes off the islanders.
At last, seeing no chance of anything
but death, he gave the signal to his mel
to be ready at a certain cry to drag tn
boat into the water. Presently the is
landers began to return, and something
told Stanley not to wait.
So he shouted the word of command
and the boat few down the slope into tn
water, his men diving all around it like s
many muskrats, in their eagerness to es
cape the javalins and arrows which the.
knew would come.
Stanley picked up his elephant gun
and, as an islander bounding on to tn
beach was preparing to fire an arrow al
ter the boat, he shot him, and the i'm
mense bullet, passing through the say
ages body, killed another behind him.
Meantime it was discovered the oar
were lost, and Stanley's men were pad
ding with their hands as fast as the
could to get out of arrow-range, whe
they were Mortified by seeing thirty-si
savages put off from Bumbrich in thre
large canoes.
The men in Stanley's boat were anxiou
to fire at once, but he ordered them to a
low the canoes to approach, and succeed
ed in sinking two of them by firing int
thei- sides at the water line.
In two minutes two dozen savages we1
struggling in the water, and beatin
away for the shore with vigorous strides
the third canoe renounced pursuit, an
Stanley and his men found themselv'
safe, but still half-dead from hung'
when they joined the main body of tt
expedition.