Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-07-12
A GREAT FOREST.
STANLEY'S PASSAGE THROUGH
AN AFRICAN JUNGLE.
The Explorers Vivid Description of
the 100 Days Spent in Its
Gloomy Shade Amiu
Many Dangers.

| 'E. ~. IL. brucc, SOu-ln-laW OF DIR.
livingston, who lives in Edinburgh.
The following account of the Journey
through the forest region to the Grass
Land is very interesting:
"Wlilc in England considering the
best routes open to the Nyanza (AlbcrN !
thought I WAS very liberal in allowing
myself two weeks march to cross the for
'cst region lying between the Congo and
:llc Grass Land, but you may imagine
our feelings when month after month saw
US marching, tearing, blowing, cutting
through that sHnlc continuous forest Ii
took UP 100 days before We could say:
'Tllank God, we arc out of the darkness
Al last 1T one time we were all
whites and blacks-almost done IN
Dur officers are heartily Sick OF the forest.
but the loyal blacks, IL band of 1870, fol.
lowed me once again into the wild, truck.
less forest, with IFS hundreds of incon.
vcnicnccs, TO assist their comrades of the
rear column. Try and imagine some OF
these Inconvenience. Take thick Scot.
fish copsc, dripping with rain; imagine
this c0psc to be mere underground,
nourishcd under the impcnctrablc shade
OF ancient trees ranging from 100 TO $50
| feet high; bricrs and thorns abundant:
lazy creeks, mcandcring through the
depths of the jungle, and sometimes Il
deep afucnt Of Il great river Imagine
this forest and Jungle in all stages of de-
cay and growth-old trees fall.
ing, leaning pcrilously over. fallen
PROSTATE; ants and insects of all kinds,
sizes and colors, murmuring around:
monkeys ard chimpanzccs above, queer
noises OF birds and animals, crashes in
the Jungle rs troops of elephants rush
away; dwarfs with poisoned arrows Sc.
curcly hidden behind some buttrcss or in
some dark recess; strong, brown bodied
aborigincs with terribly sharp spears.
Standing poised. still rs dead stumps;
ram paiterin:: Gown on you every Other
Gay H. the year; an impure atmosphere,
with us tread consequences, fever and
dy<ci"cry; gloom throughout the day,
and '''"';mcss aimos. palpahlc throughout
tie might; and thci;, if you will imagine
Zach 4 forest extending Tie entire dis.
lance from Plymouth to pctcrhcad, you
. will ia"c fair ida of some of the in.
convcnicmrcs endured by us Now that
We nave gone through aud through Til.
forcs. rc.ion | only feel Il surprise that
did not give II greater latitudc To NV
, ideas respecting its extent; for had We
though; of it, it is only what might have
been deduccd from Our knowledge of the
great sources Of moisture necessary to
| supply the forest with the requisite sar
and vitality. Think Of the large extent
! Of South Atlantic Ocean, whose vapors
are blown during nine months of the ye,r
IN this direction. Think of the broad
Congo, varying from one to sixteen miles
wide, which has Il stretch of AGO miles,
supplying another immcasurabic quantity
Of moisture to be distilled into rain, and
mist and dew over this insiiiablc forest,
and then another 600 miles OF the Ar,i.
wimi or Ituri itself, and then you will
lease to wonder that there are about one
hundred and fifty days OF rain every veal
in this region, and TIA: the Congo forest
covers such wide area.
'Until We set foot Oh the grassland,
something like fifty miles west of the Al.
bert Nyanza, We SAW nothing that looked
smile or Il kind thought or a moral sen.
sation. The aboriyines are wild, utterly
savage, and incorrigibly vindictivc. Tie
dwarfs-callcl WMn,butti = are worse
still, far worse. Animal life is likewise
80 wild and shy that no sport is 10 DO en-.
ioycd. The gioom of the forest is per
pctual. The face OF the river, rejecting
its black walls Of vegetation, is dark and
:ombrc. The sky onc-half the time every
day resembles wintry sky in ENGLAND
the face of nature and life is liked and
joyhss. If the sun charges through the
black clouds envcloping it and kindly
WIND brushes the masses OF vapor below
the horizon and the bright light reveals
our surroundings, it is only to tantalize
Us with 4 short lived vision vi briiiancy
and beauty Of verdurc
Emerging from the forest finally, VIC
all becamc cnrapted. Like captive un.
fcttcrcd and set free, we rcioced ut SIGHT
Of the blue cope of heaven, and freely
bathed in the warm sunshine, and aches
and gloomy thoughts and unwholcsome
ideas were b:;nishcd
Had you seen us you would have
thought we had lost our senses, or that
Legion had entered and taken posses
sion OF US. We raced with our loads over
wide, unfcnccd field dixie an English
park for the softncss of its grass, and
herds Of buffalo, Gland, roam antelope,
stood on either hand with pointed cars
and wide eyes, wandering at the sudden
wave of human beings yelling with JOY as
they issued out of the dark depths OF the
forest.
"We poured out on the plain Il frantic
multitude, but mitcr an hour or two We
| became an orderly column. Into the
empty villages OF the open country VIC
proceeded to regalc ourselves on melon.
rich-Iiavoreu banamls, and plaintains,
and great pots iull of wine The fowls,
unaware OF the presence OF hungry
mob, were knocked down, pluckcd,
roasted or broilcd; the goats, mcdita.
lively browsing or chewing the cud,
were suddenly seized and dccapitatcd,
and the graceful aroma Of roast ncal
gratiiicd our senses. An abundance. II
prodigal abundance, of the good thin"s
had awaited OR eruption into the grass.
land. Every village was well stocked
with provisions, and even Injuries lono
denied to us. Under such fare the mel,
| uprulnn M {. .nI Il;