The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-21
IN THE SOUDAN.
Colonel Longs Trip to the Source of the
Nile-A Present of Females.

Chicago Inter Ocean.
Colonel Charles Chaille Long, in the Egyptian
parlor OF the Palmer, yesterday. told the story
of his most venturesome and brilliant feat in
connection with African exploration. 1t was his
journey OF discovery of the actual sources of the
Nile. A man of affairs is Colonel Long Serving
in the United States service, in the Eleventh
Maryland Consolidated Regiment on General
Sch9pfs staff, he departed in 1870,
to take up new duties under the Khe-
dive. to whose service, about that time.
went also General Loring, General Sibley and
KEENAN,. listener yesterday to Colonel Longs
narrative was none other than General w. w.
Loring himself, now visiting in Chicago. Vet
eran enough is this old soldier who as the
youngest colonel in the service, lost an arm be-
fore the City of Mexico, commanded q corps in
the confederate army, and afterward took up
military service under the khedive. nervy
man of forty-two or forty-three. part soldier
part diplomatic, part courter, is Colonel Long
Ia brief his story is thus told:
Detached from the command of General IIor-
ing. my good friend here, and appointed to Gen
Gordon's staff, we left Cairo in February, 1874,
for GondOkoro, where General Gordon was to
assume the authority of territorial governor a
position vacated by Sir Samuel Baker. We
reached that place on April a. 1874 from which
L had determined to start for the execution of
the self imposed task of settling the question of
the Nile sources, and extending the domain of
Ismail Pasha Now. before started from Cairo
there were four things bought for that expedi-
ton. They were an electric battery. music
box, mirror and horse. | was attended by
two Mussulmen soldiers and some other at
PENDANTS recruited along the way. After
this journey, comprising nearly 600 miles
from Gondokoro to the tribe was about TO
visit, I reached the frontier of the people in
question, the Ugandas, whose sovereign was
King Mise. told them my errand was peace
fnl. that l wished to discover any great men
there were in that country and TO distribute
presents Well, all Uganda turned out to re-
ceive me. Thousands gathered on the hillsides
to welcome me. Up dashed upon my horse.
Of course was spectacle, for was clad in the
rich uniform of the Egyptian army and horse
was an animal they never before had seen. I
seemed a centaur Imagine 10, 900 people on their
faces, and then imagine them breaking for
the jungle They called me Mbguru white
prince" and poked their fingers at me with a
monosyllablc utterance expressing nothing but
wonder. They gave me a reception and |
brought out my presents. Imagine the effect of
that mirror, which had belonged to Lady Baker,
and which was as dig as that per-glass yonder
it had taken twelve men to carry it. When
that thing was unlocked in the presence of the
King you can imagine how they danced. Then
brought out the music boz, but they didn't
care so much for the music because it was Wag-
ners and they didn't understand It;
but the mechanism tickled them, and
when / opened my watch and put it into
the Kings hand he simply had to drop it. AS
for my horse, of course they paid that great
to secure me lutte bit of sympathy. / had in
structed one of my two soldiers to detach the
wire whenever 1 took it, but when passed to
anyone else to charge it,. He did it, and 1
knocked the King down. When he had tried it
he wanted each of his ministers to do the same
and that's the way got their fear and respect
not their sympathy. Well, after that reception
l was looked upon as a god. That battery made
me the deus ex machina But had to think of
moving on, for 600 miles was behind
me, and the only route for me was
toward the river. But the reception wasn't over
for after that weary seance the people came in in
a war dance, and the King beckoned me to fol-
low Among his attendants were twelve savage
looking fellows that soon learned were his exc
cutioners. What do you suppose they did, Why,
they rushed upon the spectators, seized thirty,
choked them with ropes. and beat out their brains
with clubs. When this little exhibition was
known at home there was some feeling because l
had not interfered. But what do you suppose /
was expecting myself all the whief / tell this
incident to show their disregard of human
life. Even when left they went out in advance
and slew people along the route SO as to make it
appear dangerous and deter me from departing.
But left, and reached the Nile in twenty days.
Before left, however, the King, to show his
good will, gave me a number of females, among
them his daughter. l took her to Cairo aud
placed her IN a convent, and atterward in pri-
vate family, and arranged with the Khedive that
she should be returned as the wife of one of his
officers. ! couldn't have refused, for that would
have pronounced her unworthy Prince.
Colonel Long reached the Nile passed down
it to Lake Ibrahim, where really dwell the
lotus eaters of Howdatus, and by establishing
the identity of the river between Urondogani,
where Spekes exploration stopped. and coli,
distance of $50 miles, dissipated the idea that
the Nile flowed east to the Indian ocean. and
settled the question of the origin of the Nile by
discovering that its sources were in the lakes
Victoria and Albert Nyanza and Lake Ibrahim,
the three constituting chain of reservoirs for
the Nile. After various moving accidents by
food and field" attacks by savages and the like,
Colonel Long returned to his people, having &C
complished what Baker failed to Cd, and by