The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-12-18
EmIn Boy and the white Traveller.

With the fact established that Henry M.
Stanley and Emin Bey are in the hands of
the Mahdi of Khartoum and can be ransomed
by the delivery of the torrid little port of
Snakim over to Osman Digna and his Arabs,
no government would dare to 60 before the
English people with the record OF a refusal
OF such an arrangement. But the govern
ment Is justified in requiring that it shall be
certain that the state of facts alleged exists
and the word of lying Arab must be forti-
ned Dy circumstantiaI evidence of the strong
est kind. The cartridges sent by the Arabs
to the English prove nothing even If they
are the identical cartridges carried by
Stanley when he set out; since they nigh t
have fallen into the hands of the Arabs in
hundred ways, not involving the capture of
Stanley or the defeat Of his expedition. The
letter sent by the Khediye of Egypt to Emin
Bey in care of Stanley, which also seems to
have fallen into the hands OF the Arabs. is
better evidence Of the truth of the story
which Osman Digna is telling TO the British
at Suakim. But this is by no means con-
elusive, as messenger bearing the letter on
ahead OF Stanley might have been inter
cepted, or the letter might have reached Emin
Bey and been captured with him before 1.-THE
arrival of Stanley and the juncture of their
forces. IL seems hardly possible that both
Stanley and Emin Bey can be prisoners.
though 1t seems rather more than probable
that the latter may have been oyerpowered
at last. But Stanley took with him when he
set out on his journey from the Congo region
nine Europeans, sixty-one Soudanese, thir-
teen Somali, 620 natives of Zanzibar, com
pany comprising great variety of native wit.
talent and shrewdness to supplement the
leaders well known qualifications. As Doc
tor Oscar LEM, of the University of Prague.
has pointed out, it is scarcely conceivable
how this expedition should have been so
routed or so encompassed that some few of
the sharp and shrewd natives of Zanzibar,
accustomed to expeditions of the kind, could
not have managed to escape and long before
this to bring news to the Congo or to
Uganda, which Is on the road to Zanzibar
Even had Stanley Joined Emin and with him
suffered capture by treachery, it seems Just
rs improbable that no refugee of the expedi-
ton should make his way home. The fact
that white traveller" has been according
TO the Arab story taken with Emin would
not constitute anything more than pre-
sumption that Stanley may be the one. For
though Africa is a vast place and land of
terrors for the white man, there are never
theless quite number Of white travellers
roaming its wilds almost constantly, Emin
Pasha has had several callers since he has
been cut off from Communication with civil
ization. With him dwelt for long time the
Italian traveller aid explorer, Casati. who.
according to the latest accounts, has fallen a
victim to the ruler of Uniovo, but of whose
death there is no certainty nevertheless.
Furthermore, in the company of Emin Pasha
up to last year, was Or. Junker, who subse-
quently succeeded In crossing Uganda and
reaching the east coast of Africa, and now
resides at Vienna. Then when the Mahdl
triumphed In the Equatorial Provinces 1t is
more than probable that some white adyen-
turers who were there connected with the
Khedive's establishment may have escaped
and terminated their wanderings by a refuge
with Emin. Any one Of such would be a
white traveller" but would not, therefore.
be of necessity Stanley, who may vet be
playing the role Of the White Pasha at some
distance from Emin Bey's Province.