The Portland daily press., 1878-11-23
You say "Give US a poem :
Recent Publications.

W OodNdooCIo, OOuu IbuSs6lt Oel12 LQ6 agent IN
Portland. The finish of the covers In red,
black and gold, first attracts attention, ors
side representing the traveller 10 bis boat row.
ing through flooded jungle, while the other
gives river scene with famingoes, and bam-
boo stems striking into the picture with fms
Japanese effect. In the first volume is pic-
ture OF the author taken in 1874, young and
fresh looking, while in the second is a picture
taken in 1877, gray haired and with worn fsa-
lures, but wonderfully fine and strong, show
ing in every line
The sharply-cut experiences
Which make mems lives sublime"
The Illustrations, numbering $50. are excellent,
and the maps strikingly show how much he
has added to the geography of Africa. The
Victoria lake has brosdened out, aud Albert
lake has shruDk and divided into the Albsrt
and the Muta Nzige or Dead Locust lake,
while new lake, the Alexandra, appears in
the neighborhood. On the western side bis
long course down the Congo mapped out shows
what an enormous gap there is on either side
left for future explorers. He has cleared up
the mystery left undiscovered by Livingstone
aud Cameron, by proving that the Lualaba is
WV ONH6oB ohu opp"tSAliy hOccacQ Luo
solved riddle of Schweinfurlh, where does the
Welle river go to, By mapping it as an atfiuent
OF the Congo. He has discovered great lake,
the Mnta Nzige, which Sir Samuel Baker had
heard of, and supposed was part of bis lake,
the Albert, thus making that the Great lake of
Africa, when it is in truth only prince con-
sort, or as William Of Orange styled the posi-
tion. gentleman usher" to that queen of
lakes, the Victoria. Bat in his turn he was
foiled in his purpose of exploring the new lake
and has left 1t as problem for his successors
to work at.
Stanley adopted the dashing tactics Of Baker
in his travels. He struck off from the Ujiji
route straight to Victoria lake, fighting his
way through. This took four mouths time.
Five months Of 1875 were spent in exploring
the great lake which he thoroughly mapped
His account Of Ugunda and of King Mtesa
aud his ancestors, dynasty of thirty. five
reigns which, like our ancient history, runs
back into the realms of fable, aud must have
existed in fact for four or five hundred years,
reads like romance. He accompanied that
monarch to war. the King having an army Of
100000 soldiers and followers. There was no
P'SSHeN P'ssOt Wv SAOos 0CoA Va
and heavy talk, like onr carly Potomac cam
paigns. He fiatters himself that he has nearly
converted the King to Christianity, winning
him away from Moslemism to which he had
been converted by Jealous Mussulman since
Speke's visit. Mtesa lent him guard of two
thousand men to explore Dead Locust lake,
but hardly had they reached and looked upon
that water when they were driven back by the
rising of the warlike people Of that country,
and the timidity of his allies. On this occa-
sion he immortalized his patron by naming the
highest mountain Of the region, Mt. Gordon
Bennett. As this is Is 900 feet high, almost a.
high as Mont Blanc ia. .SOO) it reaches nearly
up to perpetual snow, whose limit there on the
equator is 1890 feet. There are two noun
tans toward the east coast, Kenia, $1,000 feet,
and Kilima Marc, 1000 feet which overtop it,
but Mr. Bennett may well be contented with
mountain which is only equslled iu Europe by
Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa.
November 26. 1875, he started for lake Tan
ganika, reaching Uiiji May q, 1876, six
months journey. He remained exploring the
lake, until September, chiefly interested in set
tlng the question of Livingston and Cameron,
whether the river Lnkuga is an outlet of the
lake or an affluent He concluded that 1t was
both an affiuent and an efluent, flowing in
when the lake is low, and discharging Its val.
ers toward the Congo valley when it is high.
But the reader hastens through the first vol
ume to get az the account Of the great journey
down the Congo, which Livingston was forced
to relinquish and from which Cameron was
turned aside. This commenced August 25th,
1876, and in October be reached NyaDgwe,
where Livingston tarried and returned, and
where Cameron, after vain attempt to pierce
the Country of the Cannibals, left the river,
turned to the South and struck across to Ben
guells Here he met Tippu-Tib, the half-caste
Arabian trader, who bad assisted Cameron, and
learned the course that Office had taken. At
this point one stops to compare the maps and
see how near Cameron came 10 his guesses as
to the course of The river, and Is surprised to
see that whils both put lake in lat. 4 to s.
and Ion. % E., Cameron calling it Lake San
korra, and Stanley the "Lake Lincoln Of Liv-
ingston," that Cameron makes that lake the
Northern limit Ct the course Of tie Congo.
while Stanley survey shows the river making
9 grest sweep three hundred miles beyond il to
the Northwsr5, and increasing the difficulties
oDe-haf above even Cameron's despaiEing
ideas.
The Arab trader gave The same 6ishearten-
ing advice and information which had deferred
Cameron, but finally consented to follow Stan
ley with 400 men little way to encourage his
men. This escort accompanied him about o
hundred miles down the river. through almost
impossible swsmps aud jungles, fairly ioto the
Country Of the Oanuibils, where the village
paths were all ornsmented with rows OF human
skulls, thu relics of their fsssts. Here the Arab
aud his meu turned back after receiving 81
600 and heavy gifts Of merchandise for their
services, and Stanley, with his little troop of
149 mep, w9me0, and children, tet out alone on
the most desperate journey that the history of
adventure records. They we're then 10 the
Country OF the Canuibal dwarfs, whose T. roci-
ty has Inspired 50 mach fear among all who
approach their borders. Night and day these
enemies assailed them their battle cry being
"meas, mt att actually hunting them for food.
Like Cameron be had been unable to purchase
Canoes but after beng forced to fight he had
captured enough of them TO convey his parry.
For five hundred miles they sailed down the
river, uld were sssailed at every turu by flo-
tilas of canoes full Of men armed with spears
and with arrows. The natives almost invaria-
bly, attacked them at sight. After dispensing
their fotillas By severe and dogged fighting,
covering themselves with hage shields which
they captured ftom the euemy, they would
charge upon village and hold it through the
night, thus securing shelter aud food at the
expense of almost continuous WATCHING aud
fighting. Their most trying times were when
they had TO pull their canoes around a cataract
as their bloodthirsty enemies then had Them at
a disadvantage. On the SIKH handed
miles new terror awaited them. Guns aud
powder from the west coast had penetrated to
that distanca and thair anarni.a ao.lIx -.