Morning journal and courier., 1884-12-29
STANLEY AND THE CONGO.


 What The Great Explorer Says Com cernIng The New Field Of Commer- cIaI Conquest.
 From the Berlin Correspondence of the New York Tribune] q learned, MT. Stanley" said 1, ''that the 1 conference yesterday practically adopted your definition of the term Congo Basin'-that is, l track including not only the course of the stream itself, but the region commercially 1 tributary to it."
 ---ssYes, the Congo basin, as now defined, is based upon the proposition made by the American members of the conference, and day It takes in strip of territory stretch ing from the west coast across the continent to the Indian ocean, with Httoral Of oo5 miles, from Ambriz to the French Gaboon | frontier on the Atlantic side, and coast l front of 13 degrees or 7S0 miles of the In dian ocean. The principal side of the ques- l tion, however, in this discussion pertains, of course to the Atlantic littoral, as being the accessible one, and the natural geographical avenue of trade from and to Europe. So far as the country to eastward of Stanley Pool goes, that is another matter which time can develop We are talkissg now of the west ern side of the territory referred to-"
 EsWhat will be the next step taken in case the conference takes such action it is expected to toward opening the Congo region to trade2'
 'sWe shall at once proceed to build rail road, by we I mean the International associa- ton, we taking half the stock, and putting the remainder on the market for such capital ists as want to come in. The upper and lower regions of the Congo navigable, but are broken in two by the falls, making necessary portage of 235 miles. This port
 ,1,o4 %I,<, fact that for 70 or 80 miles of it there is nav
 gable water between the falls. In case we build 8 railroad for the entire distance, or the 235 miles, it will cost fl ,500, ,000. If on the other hand avail ourselves of the extra 80 navigable miles, we shall have 147 miles of road to build at cost of about 9S00, 600. This road would extend from Vivi, no miles from the mouth of the Congo to Leopoldville, st Stanley Pool, now a settlement of about 300 persons, all either Europeans or employees of our association. "
 ''How-i is Leopoldville now accessiblel"
 f'Oh, we have good wagon road all the way thither from Vivi, with posts every ten miles, gaTrisoned by our own paid soldiers. We have already taken four steamboats over the road, in pieces, and put them together again at Leopoldville for the use of the upper part of the river. The view at the latter point is beautiful At the base of the hill under the town are no less than twenty Afri-  friendly"
 t'What will be the probable attitude of the native after the railroad is completed and foreign traders flock in?"
 tfThey have thus far always been friendly and have given us every assistance. They are the most initiative people in the world- more so even than the Chinese-and they seem to feel pride in assoeiatign with Euro peans and adopting their manners and ways. do not think any danger whatever is even to be apprehenGed from the uprisings or attacks 4atiaaa. taf Seass@e2 -Szher sstFangeEs begin to pour ia, as they undoubtedly will, it will be the duty of the association to see that imposition and outrages upon the natives are prevented. The weaker race in this case will not, as in the American Indian, die out. It will assimilate."
 sFAre the Africans favorable to methods of civilizationg'
 ''You would say so could you see some of the dwellings they have put up. I know of twenty or thirty black men who have been for ten years more trading with the whites, and who have imported from England three story iron dwellings costing them each e4, GOO or e5, o00, which they have paid in palm oil or palm kernels. They live in the houses with their wives and children, with chairs and tables and carpeted floors, and great variety of cheap bric-a-brac, mirrors, etc., which they have passion for acquiring. l know of one German trader, Mir. Schultz, 
 regular business in this way. He imports complete set of parlor furniture, pictures, ornaments, etc., puts them all ill place in room in his house, and then invites wealthy black to dine with him there. After dinner the guest adInires the surroundings, and is finally permitted, as 8 favor, to purchase them entire. They are at once removed to an apartment in his English-built dwelling he pays in oil good round sum-and then the trader sends home an order for another set invites another guest to dinner, and so on"
 Europeans? For instance, were 100 colonists from Saxony to go down there, how many of them would probably be alive at the end of a year?"
 ''That depends. Suppose, for instance, that you fresh from the comforts of European life, take a steamer ticket from Liverpool to Vivi on the Congo. You go ashore, and strike inland over the portage for Leopold vile. The heat, the tremendous efforts re- quired at times to push your way through the tall grass, the burning equatorial sun, soon fatigue you; the precipitation fairly pumps you out. You come to stream and dip up handful of cold water to quench your burning tnirst you sit down on a damp rock to rest; you get chill; you go on again upon your journey, weakened you scarce know why. A fever comes on, you miss the accustomed comforts and quiet steamer; in nine cases out ot ten It IS too violent cnanSe oe your physical condition and you die. Now, let the railroad be built; let there be here and there such hotels can offer any ap- proach whatever to the comforts of modern life, and proyisioned with such food-canned goods are already plentiful there-as Euro peans eat, and will guarantee that ninety 1 to ninety-fve per cent. of your hundred Sax l ons would be alive at the end of twelve | months. There are many localities even in that equatorial region where beautiful scenery, fertile land and salubrious atmos- phere invite settlement"
 stWhat is your picture of the future in
 that region if this project is carried out, as 1t ] no doubt will be?'
 'EWen; you can form an idea when tell l you that while the 2,900 miles of the sea- coast now opened to trade and settlement ! are already dotted with European settlements, ! French, German, English, Portugese and 1 Dutch-very few Americans-this new ar rangement will throw open 10000 more 1 miles of new water front to similar peo- bling Traders will at once pour in there | from all parts of the world, and they will l be the pioneers, whose influence will gradual l 1y extend further and further in, ultimately | If African