Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-04-03
lndolitable Stanley.
The Intrepid Explorer Writes a
Graphic Letter.
HIS MARCH THROUGH MID-AFRIcA.

HIS MARCH THROUGH MID-AFRICA.
A Journey Bcset with Difficulties Success
fully Accomplished Hostile Natives
Met and Conquered-Fivs Days Contin-
uous Fighting-Arrival at Lake Nyanxa
and Meeting with Emin Pasha-The
Great Traveller In Light Marching Con-
dition, and Still Going.
LONDON, April Sir Francisco WiDton,
chairman Of the Emin Pasha relief commit
tee, makes public the letter which he received
Monday from Henry NJ. Stanley. 1t is dated
Bungangeta island, on the Aruwhimi, Aug.
%, 1885, After confirming his short dis
patch of Aug. II, already published, an
nouncing that he had relieved Emin, Stanley
proceeds to relate the story of his movements
from June %, 1887 He refers to his instruc-
tons to Barttelot, who lost his life in the
African wilderness year or so ago, tells OF
his travels up to Oct IS. 1887, the incidents
OF which were the desertion of twenty-six
men and the leaving Of flfty-sx others who
were sick with the chief at Ugarrowwas
During this march also he lost five
men by an attack of the natives,
Lieut. Stairs being badly wounded by
poisoned arrow On Oct IS the party
reached a settlement belonging to Kilinga-
Tonga, a Zanzibarese slave of Abed Bin Salim,
the fierce old Arab who has made so much
trouble in the Congo state. Stanley says:
"This proved an awful month to us. Not
one member of our expedition, white or
black, will forget it Out of the $50 men
with whom we had started we lost 66 by de-
sertion and death between Yambuya and
Ugsrrowwas, and left 81 sick at the Arab
station. On reaching Kilingslonga we found
we had lost 55 more men by starvation and
desertiou- We had lived principally on wild
fruit and nuts Abed Bin Salim's slaves did
their utmost, short Of open hostilities, to ruin
the expedition They induced the men to sell
rifles and clothing, so that when we left
we were beggared and the men nearly naked
We were too weak 10 carry the boat and
seventy loads Of goods, and we left them
at Kilingalonga uBder Surgeon Parke aud
Capt. Nelson, the lstter of whom was unable
to march. After marching twelve days we
reached Ibwiri The Arabs had devastated
the whole country, so that not native hut
was standing between Ugarrowwas ami
Ibwiri. What had not been destroyed by
slaves Of Abed Bin Salim the elephants ru-
ined, so that the whole region was turned
into horrible wilderness. But at Ibwiri we
were beyond the utmost reach OF destroyers
We were on virgin soil in populous region
Astounding with food. Our suffering from
hunger, which began Aug. 81, terminated
on Nov. Il. Ourselves and men were skele-
tons Out Of $50 men we now numbered only
and Of tha.n hal H.. 1.e
left. A halt was ordered for the people to
recupsrats. Hitherto they were skeptical
Of what we had told them The suffering
bad been so awful, the calamities so numer-
Gus, the forests so endless that they refused
to believe that by and-by we would see plains
and cattle, and the Nyanza, and the white
man, Emin Pasha- We felt as though we
were dragging them along with a chain
around their nscks"
During the terrible march Stanley tried to
cheer his men by telling that they were COM
ing to good country, but bis prayers and
entreaties were of no avail He continues:
II then resorted to the death penalty. Two
OF the worst cases were accordingly taken
and hanged in the presence of all We halted
thirteen days In Ibwiri and reveled on fowls.
goats bananas, corn, sweet potatoes vans,
beans, etc. The supplies were inexhaustible
The people glutted themselves The result
was that / had l73 sleek and mostly robust
men when set out for Albert Nyanza on
Nov. "a Zone man had been killed by an
arrow We were still 1913 miles from the
lake, but with food, such a distance seemed
nothing. On Dec. l we sighted the open
country from the top of the ridge which was
named Mt Pisgah because 1t was our
first view Of the land Of promise and plenty
rtAa < roI h. a.
gloomy, deadly forest was behind U.s. After
100 days of gloom we saw the light of day,
making everything beautiful We thought
we had never seen grass so green or country
% lovely. The men leaped for joy and ran
with their burdens
"At Kilongasongas, on Dec o, we came to
the country Of the powerful chief, Mazam-
boni Our road lay through his numerous
villages. The natives sighted us and were
prepared We seized hill as soon as we ar
rived In the center Of mass OF villages, about
p. m on Dec. 0, occupied it, and built a
Eariba Of brush wood as fast as we could cut
1t. The war cries were terrible from hill to
hill across the valley. People gathered by
hundreds from all points, and war horns and
drums announced the struggle. We checked
the first advance Of the natives with a little
skirmish, and captured a COW, the first meat
we had tasted since leaving the ocean Night
passed peacefully. In the morning we opened
parley. The natives were anxious to know
who We were, and we were equally anxious
to CLEAN news. They said Maxamboni only
held the country for Kabbarega, who was
their real king. They finally accepted cloth and
brass rods TO show Mazamboni, and hostili-
ties were suspended until morning, when
Mazamboni sent word that we must be driv-
en- from the land. The proclamation was
greeted In the valley with deafening cheers.
Their word 'kanwana' signifies peace and
'kurwana' war. We hoped we had heard
wrongly, therefore, and sent our interpreter
nearer to inquire. They responded kur-
wanna and emphasized it with two arrows
bred at him. Our hill was between two val
leya / sent forty men under Lieut. Stair
TO attack the natives in one valley and thirty
under Mr.. Jepson into the other valley.
Stairs crossed deep river in face of the ma
tives, and assaulted the first village and took
it The eharp-shooters did effective work
and drove the natives up the opposite slope
until the hight became general. Jepson also
drove the natives In front Of him. We
marched straight up the valley, driving
back the people and taking villages as we
went. At 3 p m. not a native was visible
anywhere, except on one small hill q mile
and half west
ION the morning Of the 18th we continued
our march During the day we had four little
6ghts On the 1ath we marched straight
east and were attacked by new forces every
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