, 1888-10-31
sTANLgY,s HARDEST BATTLE.
The Graphic Story n Native Tells of an
Attack on the Explorer.

Attack on the Explorer.
The bloodiest and most furious battle
Stanley had with the Congo natives dur
ing his first descent of that river was
with the Ba-Ngala. Everybody has read
his graphic account of that combat, in
which sixty-four canoes loaded with the
fercest of Congo fighters were precipi-
tated into the little band of travellers, and
had not spears been pitted against fire.
arms Stanley's party would never have
reached the sea. A while ago Muele, one
Of the officers of the chief of the Ba-
Ngala, gave to Capt. Coquilhat the ma
tive version of that memorable day. The
white men on the Congo bring home few
stories that surpass in interest those the
natives tell of the time when the I'M
known whites first came among them,
and of the commotion these strangers,
with their wonderful trade goods and
their still more astonishing weapons.
everywhere produced.
1--WE had never seen q white man."
said Muele, whose tribe, thickly populat-
ing the river bank for many miles, num-
bers over 1905 people. eve had not
the slightest idea that such beings ex-
lsted. One day, some dozen moons ago
lit was on Feb. ID, 1871, at the moment
when the sun stood right above our
heads, a flotilla of canoes of a form
we had never seen before, pre-
coded by a canoe of extraor-
binary size, suddenly came into view.
In the swiftest part of the current
they were quietly passing in front of our
villages. We were astonished to see that
the men, even to their heads, were COW
cred with white cloths, and we thought
it very singular, for the richest chiefs we
knew wore only a little rag made of
banana fiber; and n fact that was abso-
lutely new to us, and that upset all our
notions of humanity, was the sight of
two white beings, yes, as white as our
pottery clay, who appeared to command
the expedition. They seemed to have
about the same form as other men, but
their hair, their eyes and their color were
very strange to us.
1--WE asked one another, Were not these
men ENJOYS from Ibanza, the mysterious
spirit, and why did they SO suddenly ap-
pear upon our river? Their purpose could
only be bad, for suddenly they landed on
an island opposite us, instead of coming
to our shore, as all people did whose in
tentions were not hostile. AT first, before
we were able to see them distinctly, we
thought they were an expedition from
our enemies of Mobeka. Our alarm
drums sounded, and we crowded to our
canoes, all ready for a fight. But the
clothing of the warriors, the strange form
of their weapons, and the unheard of
aspect of the white men soon undeceived
us. Still, we launched our canoes and
rapidly approached those of the unknown
strangers.
1.-The older of the two white men had
straight gray hair, and his eyes were the
color of the water. He stood upon his
and held toward us a red cloth and
some brass wire. We still approached
him, discussing excitedly the meaning of
his strange attitude. The other white
man Frank Pocock, who was drowned a
few weeks later in the cararacts of the
lower Congol aimed his weapon at us,
and the older man talked to him rapidly
in a language we could not understand.
Those Of u friends who were nearest
the strangers thought the actions of the
white men BODIED us no good, and so they
judged it best at once to attack these
mysterious whites, who had come from
40 one knew where.
"Then the battle began, and it was the
most terrible we ever fought. Our spears
fell fast among the enemy and we killed
some of them, and their bodies Law half
over the sides of their canoes. But, oh,
what fetch gave their weapons such won
derful power2 Their bullets, made of a
heavy gray metal we had never seen
before, reached us at enormous distances.
Women and old men who were following
the combat from the shore were hit. The
walls of our huts were perforated. Some
goats which were wandering far off In
the fields dropped dead of their wounds.
AS for us who were on the water. our
stout shields were pierced as though they
had been bananas. Many of us were
killed and wounded and others were
drowned, for the bullets knocked
holes in some of our wooden canoes.
which filled and sank. Still we kept
fighting desperately, and we followed the
white beings some distance below our vii
lagos. Their band finally escaped us and
raised loud cries of triumph as we ended
the pursuit. We could not understand
what they said"
Muele added that Mata Bulke, the
chief Of the Ba-Ngala, exerted every
effort to dissuade his ardent people from
approaching the whites, who, he de-
clared, could not be human beings. 1t
was this same chief who, three years g
this month, wept as he babe farewell to
Capt. Coquilhat, the founder of the Ba-
Ngala station, who was about to go back
TO Europe. "Return soon" he said, '.for
l am old, and l wish to see you again
before l die" A few days over a year
later Coquilhat was again among the Ba-
Ngala, who, with their powerful and
aged chief, are now among the most
faithful and useful friends of the whites.
New York Sun.