New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-30
CONGO LAND.
OPENING THE DARK CONTINENT

STATE DRY OF Erplora ION ny nm OIL
STANLEY. Two volumes So, la 80
Nev-Yoik: Harper Brothers A..
r. ,,,l,,r,es contain ell that is known OF the
raras, State in the worl-the Congo free o'ale-
nd are complied by the only man W DO Is compeVen.
N make the record OF its recent exploration yo'
they cannot be said to be inherently in'0ies
IT. autbor gives a complete and detailed account OF
has hscn done 10 opeu the great valley to
a. ,o,or,orce of the world since he himself
.,.rg "A fro,n the Dark Continent after the memor-
- ;orrnev ny which the Chamber ana the
Ioloha sycre shown to be no other than the congo
Usown explorations and negotiations with Chiefs
and the diplomatic proceedings by whcn an enoi
- tract in mid. Africa was fashioned into Free
State nnder the auspices of the International Assn
citation are recounted with painStaKlhg care his
reflections upon the resources OF TINS vast region
and the possibilities Of promoting trade anu c'A1-
aton are Of the highest importance. suce ne is per-
- IL orlv man whose opinion ON this subject is
n he accepted by French geographers, by Con-
+i,eutal courts and By Manchester factors as
eptboritatiye IT, therefore, the pages are turned
Istlessy it is not through any fault OF the author
certainly not through any neglect on the part OF the
booxmakers for these are handsomely printed ana
admirably illustrated volumes-but rather BECAUSE
the Congo is barren of associations by whicn human
interest is excited. much greater river tnah Tao
Nile its history is so complete blank that 1t is not
he would not be made into black mans pot" Tor IL.
As the author himself confesses, neither rowing
oncieuts nor wandering mOderns OF great renown
have visited it, No grand event is connected with
its name: nothing has ,ever been performed I'D con-
nection with the Congo to make It's history PoPu-
larly interesting to those who are not engaged IN
commerce or some special study OF IL. indeed .he
only history which it has is the shameful recoio VI
the slave trade, so well descr i by the author IN
this passage; Nc,
Inbumantty of man to man has been .exemplihed
here for over two centuries by the pitoss persecu-
tiou of black men by sordld whites, ne patlNes
formerly were purchased by thousands foTeiD eh-
1atr,ated unclaimed by DOZENS packed closely IN
tire holds OF ships, aud shipped 10 the braIis,
West Indies and North America, whence they
,sSsr retnrned Whole fleets have been maintained
To carry on the slave traffic, and nave ahcnore1 III
this mel ghborhood. The miscellany OF merenahpse
aud the stores of gin and rum IN their holds have
Iuduced tie PEOPLE Of Bona TO seek by all niquli0ns
means to gather the victims Of superstition, ioiiy'
i0norance and of violence from all parts miami
AZ this evil spread abgaad, other neghboring dls,
friets Ponta da Lenha. Nokkl, Mussuko, and ali
tie river and coast towns despatcna 9neln En- rudo
sar.es until there was not village IN al tue Wiuo
space btVeeR the sea and the meridian o. Sta1ieS
Pool which had not cause t. curse ,me fD ana ,' woe
Now DO you wonder. you look about over me
large area Of wild, rness and sterlty that 50 nuGn
of those rich plains. now covered WIN nohfhiui ny
rnsflinp grass lies untledi Had this land but tine
population which has grouped itself III crowde'..
nuInbcrs along the Upper Congo and It's upper
aine,ts ,nodern BONA would have been city of
some magnitude; for the legitimate trade winch
has sprung up since Britain moved ,Euiopss, anu
America 10 tenderness and compassion hal sumceu
n have stimulated the many, as 1t has the rev relCs
of vanished tribes now living, TO honorable IN
dustry in developing the natnial resources Va i u
land Oh il in the coming times, when see WIN
eyes inspired by faith. the land shall be redeemed
from its present torpid deafness when generations
shall he born under the benign influence OF CIV lIS"
institutions when the land has been helped ny INC
foster ng care of government. and the plains anu
te valleys shall rejoice fairness and plenty ten
LET that Nation that initiated the siave-trade Ia
these reg ons beware the pen of the Congo poet
The Congo Valley IN the minds of the great mass
of rea lers is sudused with that peculiar African
sunshine which Mr.. Stanley analyses as repelling
by its unsocability. its mmobity and its unspeak-
able loneliness Witness his own words:
When speaking of African sunshine It must be
remembered that there are different qualities OF
sunshine. For instance there is the hard white.
naked uadisguised sunshine OF Northeastern
America there is the warm. drowsy. hazy sunshine
OF the English summer; there is the bright cheery'
purified Sunshine of the Mediterranean AiT,can
sunshine however. always appears 70 me- WIN a. an
its great heat to be kind OF superior moonlight
judging from its effects on scenery Once or Twice
In this book | write of sOlemn-looklng mis-
can only attribute this apparent solemnity to the
peculiar sunshine 1t deepens the shadows, ana
dnrkens the dark green foliage OF tue Forest mnIS
n i,nnarts a wan appearance or cold rejection oil
light to naked slopes and woodless hIiitOps rs
elect is chill austerltyIa an ihaescrl o s,p.
solemnity a rcpeng unsociabilty Your sym,
,,abes are not warmed by1t; silence mas SET ts seai
uuon IT: before it you become speeches.. UaLe
your utmost on the scene ADMIRE IL as YOU ,sS
worship ID if you will, but your love IS not heedeu
Snesk not of grace or of loveliness i'll connection
with il. Serene il may be. but u is passiohl1ss
serenity. 1t is to be contemplated, but NOT 70 DC
epoken to- for your regard Is fixed upon voiceless
sohinx-like ilnmobility, belonging more TO an IN
snbstantial dreamland than TO q real earth II You
think of tits attempt at Analysing the cause of this
unspeakable loneliness when next you gaze upon
African hscenes you VIII pHTh nSsce iS hat If
is purely a want of sympathy between you and
them, owing entirely to the strange sunshine.
The Congo is described as from eight to ten times
as broad as the Mississippi. with vegetation far
more luxurant. 1t has countless varieties OF the
palm alone Besides it possesses herds of hip
popotami and crocodes innumerable; elephants
standing sentry.like in the twilight of the dark
forests buffalo red and black grazing on the grassy
plains; monkeys rompng on the Islands ana the
main land; floeks of ibis black and white parrots,
pa,roauets aud guinea fowl. The water is of a tea
color on the left half. and nearly chalky white on
the right half If the scenery could be seen from the
deck of a commodOus steamer, the author IS con-
fdent that it would be pronounced superior to any
other river scenery in the world. But viewed from
the deck of the little vessels manned by the asso
ciation's employees, it is monotonous and tedious
from the syness of the ascent and the discomfort
of the accommodations. The eyes easily stated
anil WEAKNESS is created by compulsory Inactivity.
This is u graphic account Of Congo voyagng.
The WEAKNESS Is only created by our compulsory
inactivity Our eyes are feasting continually upon
nety details of the nature of which are scarcely
conscious The fitting of tiny sun-bird, the
chrping weavers at their nests; the despondrD'
droop OF a long oalamus which cannot find support,
and which. like the woodbne, nourshes best when
1t has tall stem TO cling TO; the DamDOo-hKe
rs-ds the svaying tufted head of oVergrown
papyrus; the floating by of Pistia strdtctes; flock
Of sereeching parrots hurrying by overhead; that
great vawnng hippopotamus lazly preparing Tor q
plunge into his watery bed that log-like form OF
lie crocodile reused from his meditatlons 10th to
20, but compelled by the whirr of paddle-whecls
skurrying in their leafy homes away from the in
creasing noise; that white-coared fish eagle out
snraadDo his wings for Eight: that darling diver