Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-07-02
SMCGGLED LETTERS.
Means Used by White Men Among Hostile Saw
ages 10 Get News to Their Friends.

Means Used by White Men Among Hostile Say
ages 10 Get News to Their Friends.
{ Three scientific men, Emin Bey, DR..
tanker and Signor Casati, have for two
years been virtually prisoners in the
depths OF Africa. Hemmed in on one
side by the followers of the Mahdi, they
reiterated southwark until they were stop
ped by hostile blacks not far from the
sources of the Nile. There they now
are in the Unyoro country, waiting for
the Succor which two parties sent out IN
der Drs. Fischer and Lem are trying
amid great difficulties TO carry to them.
Though cut off from all hope of escaping
by their own eIertions, the fact has been
frequently illustrated within the past
year or two that the castaway IN savage
lands can often make his sad plight
known to the friends whom II Is utterly
impossible for him 10 reach except by
letter.
The messenger who bore the miSSive
of these unfortunates to Victoria Nyanza
was probably Just like those who until re
Gently were wont to travel over the same
road from the Egyptian outposts TO the
great lake-an almost naked savage car
rying his letter in a split stick. which he
bore high above his head when walking
through the tall, wet grass. PoStmen
like this have done a great deal OF letter
carrying through African jungleS, and
they have proved to be faithful and ex-
peditious.
The missionaries of the north end of
Victoria Nyanza for some months past
have virtually been prisoners i'll Rubaza,
and until recently none of them was per
mitted to set his foot outside the town.
Yet in the dark days when no white man
could possibly reach them, and they hard
ly dared to hope that their lives would be
spared from hour To hour, they managed
several times to communicate with their
friends i'll England. Hidden in the gar
ments of Arab traders. their letters safe
" reached the coast. and were read in
England about three months after they
were written. In the same way a number
of the white captives of the Mahdi have
contrived to send tidings from their pri-
son hutS il KhartOum to friends in Eu-
rope.
Six hundred years ago the man who
wished to send message north from the
south end of Cochin China placed ii in
the hands of Il courier who was relieved
when about twelve to sixteen miles ON
his way by second courier; and thus the
letter was transferred from post 10 post
the couriers travelling at Il sharp trot,
carrying the letter as far i'll one day as
the ordinary traveller could journey in
three Exactly the same method is still
employed to carry the mails over this
route. Along the royal road that skirts
the sea from Saigon through AMMAN to
Hue the couriers still hurry Mt an extra
ordinary rate with their mail snugly stow
ed away in bamboo tubes.
The method of carrying the mail in
savage lands is here and there improving.
1t is now possible for instance. a thous
and miles up the Congo River to attiN to
letter postage stamp bearing the por-
trait of the King of Belgium and the
words Free Congo State" put ii into a
civilized mail bag, and send it on its
journey to the sea. This is decided i'm
provement on the black native with his
split stick.