Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1878-04-06

the novel, but In onr judgment correct
idea, that to Christianize the Native
African he would put him to work, prac7.
tiealIy demonstrating to him that he
was created for purpose, and as there
are no roads in Africa, be would make
roads, build bridges, aud do other
things for the comfort and convenience
of the natives: q s.... ....I ,.ls.e. Of.
MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
' FROM CENTRAL AFRICA.
UNFoRTUNATE ExPEDITIoNs-A DEADLY
CLIMATE.
We have received the following COM
munication from Mr.. A. NJ. Mackay,
engineer to the Church Missionary So
cietys expedition to Uganda, on Lake
Victoria Nyanza. The intelligence it
brings will no doubt be read with pain
tul interest by many Of our readers:-
i.. ,, c. NJ. S.. Camp, near Ndnmi,
East Africa, I'd Feb, 1878.
......... MY wagons and whole cara
van are now over 100 miles inland from
Saadani, but / myself found it necessa.
ry, few days after despatehing my last
letters, to run down 10 the coast, partly
in pursuit of deserters, but chiefly to
fetch up lot of our cloth, &c, which
the terrible rainy time that befeil us at
starting compelled us to leave behind:
Sytherleigh aud Copplestone, whom
left in charge, and who had by that
time got pretty well up to their work,
have been getting and pushing on very
we'll since. left them 65 miles inland.
This distance l walked back on foot in
two days, rather footsore, but days
rest soon put me all right. Since that |
have got. two carts renewed, and bought
40 oxen, many Of whom l have already
trained. With these and 20 men Fam
once more on the road. Two or three
slight touches of fever and other delays
have hindered. me a little. had in
tended to be on the road yesterday, but
had suddenly to saddle my ass and ride
over to Ndnmi &c miles) to doctor one
of our young fellows who came Out for
Mpwapwa, and who was suddenly taken
i'll on the road, he having started tor
Mpwapwa on the previous day with
few porters. ..,
This morning. however, made de-
termined push, and got clear away. My
carts are present from the Sultan OF
Zanzibar, but are frail old things. Still
with the strepgthenings have done TO
them, they may. hold out with care.
The London Missionary Society's men
and myself are now agreed that the
heavy bullock wagon system which an
swers SO well in South Africa will not
do here at all. Our oxen are small, and
have little strength. Perhaps the great
head has something to do with it. Ac-
cordiugly carts cannot be light enough.
Iihave left two of my original heavy
carts behind; the London Missionary
Society have left four, and the five they
got the length of 200 miles up are at a
standstill, as every one of their l5O
oxen are dead. NJ. Broyou is also some
10 miles inland, landed in q fix with
his seven carts, as his oxen are nearly
all dead also. That is 1.-the Mkankok-
wa River Valley, on the road TO
Mpwapwa. l have decided not to risk
taking my caravan that way, although
] Chat is the Church Missionary SOcle-
ty) put out much money and labour in
preparing it. i have no resource left
but to cross the mountains by a north
west route to Mpwapwa. The distance
that way is 40 miles shorter, but the
100 miles of new line will be a work OF
great difficulty to get over We rise
UP to q height equal to the top OF Ben
Nevis, so you may guess what lies be-
fore me tins month. l hope soon to
oyertake my main Caravan, as. expect
to make good progress per day with
only two light carts, the road being this
month hard and dry, instead of terrible
mud kuee-deep, as We had in Decem-
The great International (better
know, perhaps, as the Belgian) Expe-
dition has come to sudden grief. -Four
men came out two months sgo. Three
were Belgians who had never been out
of Europe before, and one Austrian,
who has travelled seven years in Upper
Egypt. Abyssinia, Nubia, &c, and
speaks Arabic well. Less than a month
ago, when l came down the coast, |
called on them and saw them all well in
Zanzibar, and heard all their plans.
They were TO cross over to Saadani' in
few days, all four,and take a preliminary
run by my road up to Mpwapwa. AT
ter more than a week two of them (the
Austrian and one 'Belgian) arrived. at
my house by night in SaadaBi wet and
hungry, having been a sort of wrecked
on a sandbank in. the small dhow they
sailed over in, leaving their, men and
goods to come in large vessel, which
turned up next day, i was then just
going to start for Zanzibar to fetch my
carts across. but delayed a day to receive
the poor fellows None Of them can
speak English, nor can they understand
each other WELL as the Austrian speaks
on French, and the Belgian only few
words on German. However, my Ger
man came in very useful, as ii has often
to do when ! meet the French. Catholic
priests, who have just formed.a new
station 100 miles up my road. The
two fellows had sad story totell." One
Of their number (the naturalist) was
already dead. He went Out one day to