Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-07-16

THE CONGO AND THE FOuNDING OF THE
FREE STATE. BY Henry NJ. Stanley. Pub
lishtd by Harper Il Brothers, Franklin
SuIara New York

THE CONGO AND THE FOI' NDING OF THE
FREE STATE. BY Henry N. Stanley. Pub
nshtd by Harper Brothers, Franklin
Square, New York
Hundreds of the GzErrE's readers
who are still In the prime OF life carry in
their memories the map Of Africa as printed
IN the school Biographies of 2h or 30 years
ago. There was very little on that map
below the Mountains of the Moon" At
the extreme southern point of the continent
were little colored patches representing
Cape Colony and Katfraria which seemed
TO ne hemmed In on the Forth by the
halhhari desert. Bordering the coast of the
Indian Ocean were Mozambique and Fan
euabar; bordering the Atlantic were Congo
Angola AMI Bengueln; the narrow culOred
strips labeled with these names shad-
ing of vaguely into vast interior
marked, in big letters, 'Unexpl0red
Regions The Congo river was laid down
as shortish and crooked stream coming
rom somewhere in the western part of this
| unknown land. With many Of us this
| schOOlhoy map OF Africa still fingers,
coupled with the impression then imhihed
| that tho interior had not been explored
hrcause 1t was not worth exploring. We
fancied it blank and watrrless desert :
| another Sahara ON u larger scale, of which
haluhari was the indistinctly known south
ern terminus; and the possibility Of large
| rivers and lakes, Of mountain ranges and
| pleasant valleys and of teemng pOpula-
| ton being hidden therein seldom crossed
our youthful minds, and many OF us even
now lind some difficulty in realizing that
| the discoveries which have since been made
there arr real.
Livingstone was the first to break cour-
| aBeously and determinedly into the mys-
teries Of this unknown land. For II years
he made 1t his home and the outside world
Learned through him of millions Of before
nhheard-of people, their houses, habits
and occupations. The revelations were
akin to the discovery of another world
Other 'Hser explorers followed in the track
OF the hardy, sclf-eXpatriated Scot, and the
map Of interior Africa grew year by wear,
There came Il time when Livingstone. wan
delnS IN regions where no white man had
ever been seen before, became lost to the
world No trustworthy tidings of his
whereabouts and duings had been received
for many months. Vague rumors
that liz htd been slain or that
he was held in captivity oozrl out
through Arab traders, and the nations of
two hcmisphercs feared that i'll had be-
fallen this Columbus of the Xambezl. In
this period of uncertainty James Gordon
! Bennett came forward with the ample funds
and commissioned Henry NJ Stanley to "go
ana lind Livingstone. Stanley did so, and
} went on To find much more than Living.
stone. Beyond Lake Tanganika he came
upon u large river which, to his unboundpd
3 engagement, flowed to the west. He en-.
barked upon that river and with the tenacitS
Ola Napoleon, followed its course, undpterred
? alike by the hostility Of surprised and sus
E plclous natives and countless minol
obstacles, until he reached its mouth. 4
was the Congo, hitherto, with the exception
4 Of the lower hundred miles of its course
/ unknown TO the outside world That re-
mnrkahlc journey consumed nearly rnu
II | and "a a.
+, lance Of ten miles from BagamOyo. m,
? starting place on the east coast Of Africa
II until sighted All English flag at the mast
d head of Il merchant river steamer on thu
!. Congo, along journey Of 1000 miles,
Il never saw llag Or an emblem, or symbol
L ilug-staif, erection Of wood stone or iron
i, 10 Indicate that | lad come across civilize,
!" or semi-ciyili~nd power or authority
/, What he stlw and learned on this iournc
!, Mt, Stanley has told in his former work
Through the Dark Continent" lherei
II he figures rs the explorer in "The Congo
i he is the coloniAcr lie now tells US, in tw
large and prollls"lS illustrated volumes 4
- four years passed III rryisiting these region
~ the pioneer OF trade and civilization an
'I his successful efforts ia planting station
el along this mighty river fora distance 1
If over | 400 miles from the SEA Of his maxim
treaties and ''blOod brotherhood" with tn
NJ scores OF native chiefs who rule over Nj
i, obstacles surmounted, impending d,
g icuts turned into Victories, and III
IL stupendous final achievement of uni
~, Ing so many and varied, and olte
Il hitherto Gushing tribes. into war
ir friends and allies Of the Congo Free STAT
as acknowledging its suzerinty and adOptir
Its flag and disposed to welcome free m
IL unrestricted trade with the nations of II
RI world. The record shows the wonderf
work which man of sngacity eXprrien,
VS. and indomitable will can accomplish. III
in Congo river alone is over 5000 miles LON
!. 1t is the key TO over 20,U0O miles of inlai
" navigation ;this Mississippi of Africa with
of tributaries and lakes. drains over sim N
of square miles of territory inhabited
5JOOO,Oh1 people who, unlike the Americ;
10 Indians are not mndeup Of wandering tribe
subsistinS by hunting and fishing, but Ii
in liked communities and already, In the
.st semi-snvige state, produce immense uua
III Titles Of palm oil, palm kernels, gum COP,
orchila, camwoOd, ivory, India rubber gu
2 traguranth, spices and many other COZ
nd mOditics for which there is stea,
demand. Yet these millions of natives ha
OF only, il may be said, scrapcd at the outs
he of the resources of equatorial Africa. n
possibilities Of these resources, If they cou
I" be developed in their fulness by SUI
pe enterprise as has within our own di
carved ilourishing states and territories q
of the wilderness west Of the Mississip
Use ana planted thirteen millions Of peol
there, are enough to revive the most ferf
W. dreams Of the age Of Cortez and Pi2arro.
ial But Mr.. Stanley is not II safe guide hcl
al He is too much of an optimist. He wish
g" us 10 see only the most favorable side al
i'll Is 10th to admit that there Is any other sid
no Could the valley of the Congo he dew
opod by white settlers as California h
IRE been, it would be vastly different; but N
Stanley has abundantly shown that t
country is not Atted for the home OF t
II, white man. He has not intended to do th
be he has devoted n great deal Of space
arguing and explaining how, under certa
1st conditions and with due precautions, t
NO white man can defy the African climat
90 But the very fact that he has felt t
les need of defending the climate nj SUI
wv length will convince most of his reade
ID, that the climate badly needs defending, al
!" that equatorial Africa will not draw INN
grants in very large swarms, unless thu