The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-05-01
Difficulties Encountered by Stanley.

a.
idea of travel in Africa under its best
conditions; that is to say. through a
country fairly known, which has been
visited 10y white men, and is now ira
versed by frequent caravans. Some
times they crossed "broad and bleak
plains, where food was scarce and
cloth vanished fast" and sometimes
they came to hilly countries, where the
people were civil and hospitable.
Sometimes they were in troublesome
districts; where there were warning
tribes, where the people were treacher-
Gus or hostile, and then Stanley could
only sleep with his hand on his rifle.
There were furious tempests, ''and
some days nature and man alike
warred against us. while on others
both seemed combined to bless us.
Other troubles came to the intrepid
commander and his small army,
more especially that potent and
untiring enemy of all African travel
typhus. This was the enemy who ne
nanced Stanley at Zanzibar, and never
left his footsteps until he embarked ut
Loanda; who followed him night and
day. doing his awful will upon the eX
petition. And so from these mi.for
tunes-from famine and fatigue, from
fever and massacre, from mutiny and
death-the little army dwindled away;
and it is wonder that it did not return,
or at least content itself with visiting
Livingstone's country and exploring
Victoria 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 does it
surprise us that, amid all these dis
couragements, the heart of Stanley
should have faltered. 1.-The expedition
seemed doomed. Promises of reward,
kindness, threats, punishments, had no
effect" But ut the same time the
spirit of the leader was felt in the COM
mand 1.-The white men, he says,
"although selected out of the ordinary
class of Euglishmen, did their work
bravely, heroically. Though suffering
from fever and dysentery, insulted by
natives, marching under the heat and
equatorial rain storms, they at all times
proved themselves of noble, manly ma
lures. stouthearted, brave, and. better
than all, true Christians. These are
the men 10y whom empires are made,
but for them there was no empire but
the memory of duty well done; no
trophy. no reward, unless what is to
come as the reward for well-doing 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 Jour
ney was almost at an end.
Sometimes Stanley was in the wilder
ness without guides. This, however,
seemed II happiness compared to his
position when he did have guides who
betrayed him, MS happened early in his
expedition in Ukimbu, near the ele'
plant country. In Ukimbu the guides
ran away, and Stanley found himself
on the edge of wilderness with but
ten days provisions. He had trusted
his guides, and purchased small
quantity of food. He endeavored to
pierce the wilderness, but his track was
lost in maze of elephant and rhin-
oceros trails. He could only depend
upon his compass. The second day
found Jungle of acacia and euphor-
bia, through which the men had to
crawl and scramble along the ground,
"under natural tunnels of embracing
shrubbery, cutting the colvolvuli 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 straggle and faint.
Some managed to reach camp, where
medicines and restOratives 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 18th
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 five miles away, named
Suna. and he sent a picked band of
twenty, the strongest and post endur-
ing, to visit Suna and bring food. He
secured the woods for game, but there
was no game. A lions den was found.
In this den were two young lions,
which were killed and skinned. But
of what avail were two lion cubs to an
expedition of starved men? Surely
here was death at last death, defeat,
humiliation; and this proud expedi-
ton which had set out so gloriously
from Zanzibar, resolved to force the
mystery of u continent and fight its way