Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1882-11-30


a station was a hill three hundred and
fifty feet high, about seven hundred feet
in length, and two hundred wide-just
room enough to make broad street
with line OF houses on either side. and
headquarters at the end. The task was
terrible one; the tools were wretched,
the men were new to the work; the
sun sbone on the road-party from the
west. and the reflection from the face Of
the hill exhausted the half-bak men.
The Europeans were quickly exhausted.
and the natives suffered greatly. The
crown of the hill was soft rock. which
was excavated to depth of about two
feet. Two thousand tons of rich earth
were carried to the summit, and a gar
den, now full of furnishing fruit trees.
was constructed. From Vivi to Isan-
gila the mountains were steep and ra-
vines and torrents very frequent. We
quote Stanley own account:
'.Finally at one place large mount
ain seemed TO bar all further progress.
1t presented an almost vertical fracture
on one side. though the ascent from this
side was easy and gentle. 1t was
mountain toppled over. as it were; it
was about ten miles in length, and at
the extreme corner OF it was river to
which it sloped rapidly down to the
furious cataract, presenting a face of
bare rock. Across this corner we had
to cut our way. making road of fifteen
feet wide. since the descent of the other
slope would have been matter of sheer
impOssibility. In several places we had
to make rude bridges sufficiently strong
to bear six tons rolling over them.
Farther on the mountains were at times
so steep that it took $50 men to haul
one of the wagons from the valley to
the top. We had no animals Moth
ing but men would have done, for ii we
had had animals we should have had
to carry large additional stores Of food,
and this extra burden would have
rendered our progress still more hazard
Gus and difficult
While making this road we passed
through a wilderness fifty miles long.
with scarcely village worthy of the
name. having to supply the men all the
time from provisions brought from
Europe. The weight and labor of our
transport may be imagined when l say
that we had no less than 2.225 loads or
packages, each weighing from sixty
five to seventy pounds. We had seven
large store-tents; and besides this we
had seven enormous wagons. built on
purpose in Belgium for us. wherein to
transport the two steamers and two
large steel boats, with boilers and ma
chinery. which we had brought with us
to be put together on the Upper-Congo.
To do all the hauling we had only sixty
eight Zanzibaris and few west-coast
natives, so that our working numbers
ranged from ninety to 140. This num-
Der was never long the same, for the
natives would only work when they
pleased. and only for day or
two at q time, and nothing could
induce them to assist us regularly.
We had to go over the ground no
less than thirty-three times. and our
rate Of progress. calculating the num-
Der of days we travelled, was only
quarter Of mile per day. But there
were places where it took us twenty-six
days to pass lust four hundred yards
all the available strength being put to a
single wagon at q time. Inever could
make the people in Europe understand
the necessity Of sending us new supplies
Of hands from the other coast But the
work had to be done or abandoned, and.
as we had no thought Of retiring from
the field discounted, worked ON. pant
ing and toiling; and, finally. after elev-
en- months of unceasing labor. the two
steamers were put together at our Sec
ond station at the lsangila Cataract. the
place where 1 left the Lady Alice after
her seven thousand miles journey with
me on the Anglo-American expedition
across the Dark Continent The Lady
Alice was no more. She had been
broken up by the natives for the sake Of
the conner nails in her sheath M"