The New York herald., 1878-02-11
THE NEGLECTED COLONY.
Voyage to Cape Town in a Brit
ish Ship-Of-War.
CORDIAL GREETINGS FROM ALL.
Astonishment Of the Wanguana at Sight
Of Fire Carriage"
ON TO ZANZIBAR.


To THE EDITORS OF THE NEW YORK HERALD AND
DAILY TELEGRAPH:--
We had crossed Africa. In the language OF my
Wanguana, we had "drled hole through the con-
tinenL" The confines of civilization had been
reached. Kindly voices in my own language,
heartily toned, gave me welcome and kind eyes
Of my white brothers cheered the weary hearts of
my followers Having fallen into the habit of OBJ
serving the growth OF feelings. sympathies and
friendships, and brooding silently my unob-
trusve observations, 1t was most instructive to
note the influence OF warm hearted sympathy and
the effect OF the sense oiperect security my peo-
ple They were told many times a day that they
had performed great fcat; that they
were good; that all white men, espe-
cially Englishmen, would be delighted when
they heard that they had reached the sea. With
all this praise the English mercantile agents at
Bona and Kabnda gave them abundance to eat
and stinted them in nothing Only fifty hours pre-
viously they were heard repeating one to another,
sadly and wearily, 1--WE are dead men ;" and, ex-
cepting the chiefs and the boats crew, not one,
really believe, entertained the slightest hope that
he would see the sea again 1t touched me greatly
to hear their despairlng voices, and every oppor-
tunity had Of cheering them was seized. Hours
ana hours, till far into the night, would sit by
their camp fires, explaining to them as each day
passed how many hours yet separated US from the
world OF peace and comfort that the embraced.
But the days were many, and the hours had been
greatly protracted through q variety OF causes
before my statements were realized
FRIENDS ON THE COAST.
Finally, they had received supplies from the
'white men who live by the sea-n They had re-
ceived clothes to wear, and strong liquor for cheer
cf,antI
at all they saw, looking at the storehouses Of the
merchants, pondering at a respectful distance
upon the fact that the great iron canoe at the
landing place was propelled by steam and viewing
the great brown river with o feeling OF pride that
some OF them had seen Its very birthplace. had
followed 1t thousands Of miles, had grappled and
fought with its terrOrs, and had finally conquered
its secrets Terrible as the struggle had been,
the river at Bona had great interest for them.
Their comrades overtaken by death on the way,
whom they have not yet forgotten, seem to rise
from the river depths and remind them where
they fell Some In Uregga, some in Ukusa, the
Baswa Falls, some in savage Koruru, the Chean-
doah Falls, and the Pocock Basin.
ALMOST TOO GOOD FOR REALITY.
But the merchants Of Bona were exceedingly kind
to them. Englishmen, Portuguese and french did
their utmost Tor them Whatever could cheer their
and emaciated backs, they obtained. Messrs
Motta vega, Harrison Pinto, Chavres and Enri-
quez, Of Bona, and Wills, Price and Jones, OF Ka-
bnda, performed their duties as Christians and
gentemen; and such gracious Kindness as the
Wanguana received did not fail to produce q good
effect. They soon lost that furtive, dstrustiul,
watchful, listening look; anxiety and suspicion
disappeared, and open candor, frankness and
calm serenity begotten OF security became I'M
pressed on their features. The grayness OF skin,
or those ashy spots produced by insufficient and
wretched food disappeared, and were replaced by
the peculiar bronze sheen Of the body so peculiar
to a healthy, well fed native OF the tropics. The
deep angular lines and holiows created by famine
and uncommon privations were fast becoming
obiterated by the quantity and variety OF noursh.
ing iood served daily by the generous agents of
Hatton Cookson, OF Liverpool 1t was evident,
however, that some could not be saved: famine
had struck deeply at the vtas OF lile and the day
that we reached Kabinda warned us all who we're
Interested In the poor fellows that to lie we
must be assduous and untiring One young ie-
low, named Hassan breathed his last the first sun
rise We saw cleaning on the Atlantic Ocean.
REST AT LAST.
There was no exaggeration In that heavy sick
list that began the first month OF our toll among
the cataracts. had underrated 1t rather. When
we reached the sea we had forty-hve ailing
eighteen OF whom were dangerously Ill Though
those most afflicted could scarcely describe what
allied them, not ignorant OF the disease fer 1t
afflicted myself as WELL but in q lesser degree. We
felt satisfaction that the long trial and strain was
over but the feeling OF Indifference to ate that it
mad engendered was not to be removed al once 1t
was eternal rest, the absolute stiffness OF DEATH
that we sighed ior We might sleep and dream,
atIaH IN,
produce that delicious consciousness that life
was worth loving or cherishing. so long as
the incentive to work, and struggle and grap-
pie with death for q miserable existence re-
mained to us, we could view each sunset as stage
nearer to the goal we aimed for but, once at
tanned, we were surprised that We did not feel such
a fondness for the things OF lie that we had han
kered for SO that the people sighed and brooded
morbidly over many things and required waking up
from the effect OF the "deadstop" to that almost
fierce, energetic lie we had led, and to which we
were indebted for our success. Had slckened
after arrival at the II would have been aim ost
useless ior any physician to attempt to restore me
Tor 1t would have been against my wish, for
"what's won Is done Joys soul lies In the
doing"
THE MEDICINE OF DUTY.
let you into little OF my own feelings that You
may be able TO understand why 1t was that despite
all attention from good, conscientious physicians,
abundance OF food, skiful government
nurses, nine died from the effects OF famine and
our terrible lie IN the cataract region, alter reach
Ing the sea. Some OF the Portuguese physicians
called 1t the "seep disease,n which sometimes at
tacks the natives OF Loanda- 1t may have been
that, but think my own feelings best describe the
causea The "dead-stop" could not quite be my lot